Coffee
by Rapture-Taylore
Summary: Coffee. That bitter, addicting drink. This is based around Sakura's regular meeting in a coffee shop with her friend. Things move on from there. rated for language
1. Chapter 1

Every week like clockwork, when Sakura and her friend Ino met up for coffee at their local coffee shop there was always the same man sitting there at the same table, in the same seat. Week after week, when they came to meet up and exchange stories, catch up or just gossip he was always sitting there, reading quietly to himself, no one ever approached him and he never seemed to be meeting anyone. It was almost as if he just came to sit and read in the warmth of the coffee shop on his own.

Even when Sakura and Ino had talked for hours he was still there when they left and he was always already there before they arrived. He was an enigma, and one they frequently enjoyed discussing, making wild speculations about what he was doing there ranging from the mundane, such as just wanting some peace and quiet, to the absurd, like he worked as a spy, for this one Ino had suggested that he was investigating the plump, middle age owner of the coffee shop that they had seen on occasion who was secretly running a prostitutes ring.

The idea was so ridiculous that Sakura had laughed for almost five minutes as tears streamed from her eyes. That time he seemed to have noticed them as he had shot Sakura a strange look as she was slumped on the table giggling helplessly.

"Cold" Sakura muttered to herself as she walked briskly to the coffee shop, she pulled her scarf up so it covered her nose and mouth some more as she chill in the air made her wish she'd stayed at home.

"Great idea Sakura" she berated herself "Go for a walk in the middle of winter with frost everywhere and it being too cold to even damn well snow". Although both she and Ino had been too busy in recent weeks to met up, breaking their tradition, Sakura had been feeling restless just staying in her house or leaving for work so she had decided to go to the coffee shop just for a reason to leave her house. However she had sorely regretted it by the time she had gotten to the end of the road and had lost all feeling in her fingers, even through her gloves, she had carried on to the coffee shop through sheer determination and the thought of a caramel latte to spur her on.

Finally, after what felt like an age, she reached the coffee shop and shoved the door open, sighing in relief as a wave of warmth washed over her along with the smell of freshly ground coffee. Unfortunately it was packed, it was as if everyone who had been brave enough to venture outside had ended up here to warm themselves up. But, Sakura reflected, the most important thing was that she was warming up at last.

Sakura joined the queue, rather impatiently, to order her drink. After walking in the cold she was desperate for her coffee. When she finally reached the front she ordered her usual coffee with some relish, and spun round to look for a seat. Sure enough the same guy was there reading and she smiled slightly to herself, thinking that it would feel strange if he was ever not there.

There was an empty seat opposite him she saw and decided that as there wasn't an empty table she might as well sit with the object of their wild speculations. Besides it would be something to tell Ino when she next saw her. Sakura picked up her coffee and straightened her shoulders as she hardened her resolve and walked over to him.

"Mind if I take this seat?" She asked.

"Sure" The man replied without even looking up from his book. Sakura sat and gave a contented sigh as she removed the lid of the coffee cup, breathing in its fumes as the scent of the bitter coffee and sweet caramel filled her nose. She sat back, taking a sip and almost scalding her tongue, as she studied the man opposite her. He had dark hair and eyes, and she wondered if his hair was really black or whether it was the lighting in the coffee shop that made it look that way. She frowned slightly as she tried to commit these details to memory knowing that Ino would probably want a full report, preferably with a bit of exaggeration thrown in there as well.

"What?" The man said irritably, as he turned a page of his book.

"Huh?" Sakura said, surprised that he had said anything.

"I can feel you staring at me." He still hadn't taken his eyes off the book.

"Oh, nothing, it's nothing" Sakura said sheepishly as she hadn't realised she was being so obvious. Although she made a note to tell Ino that he certainly wasn't Mr. Cheerful.

Silence.

A long and dangerous silence as Sakura wondered if she could get him talking to her at least a little bit so she could maybe put to rest some of their wilder theories (prostitute rings aside) and maybe find something out about the man that was true. And it was then when Sakura realised she was just as bad for wanting gossip as Ino was. Usually she liked to think she was above gossiping about people all the time whereas Ino seemed to treat it as a national sport. A sport she was a gold medallist in.

"So…I seem to see you around here a lot." She started hesitantly.

"Hmm."

"Nice coffee isn't it?"

"Hmm."

"Marvellous weather we're having don't you think?" Sakura said sarcastically as the wind blew in some more customers who were hoping desperately for a warm drink to thaw them out from the cold weather.

"Mmm." Great he could make more than one sound. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Don't you just love gravy." She said innocently.

"Hn" Bastard, he wasn't even listening to her. She drained her coffee and stood up, suddenly preferring the long, cold walk home over sitting in the warmth with a rude bastard for company.

"It was nice talking to you." Sakura muttered under her breath but he seemed to have heard what she said.

"It was annoying listening to you talk." He answered smoothly, mimicking the tone of voice she had used. Sakura seethed, now he was responding?

"You know you could just be polite and say it was nice talking to me too, or something like that, its good manners, and I was only being polite. If I were more honest I'd say; it was nice talking to a human brick wall!" For the first time he looked up and met her eyes, he gave her an half smile. That is, one corner of his mouth was quirked up in amusement.

"Well it's been interesting." He held out his hand. "I'm Sasuke." She didn't take his hand and only stared at him feeling completely nonplussed.

"You introduce yourself now?" She asked feeling exasperated with his strange behaviour he shrugged; she stared at his extended hand a bit longer then reluctantly took it.

"Sakura." She said slowly as she stared at his face, committing it to memory. Now she could tell Ino that he was Mr. Not-so-cheerful-brick-wall-with-a-poor-idea-of-ettiquette-but-an-oh-so-handsome-face. Maybe she needed to shorten it, Mr. Weirdly Grumpy but Gorgeous might be better.

Out of sheer curiosity Sakura found herself walking to that same coffee shop the same day next week, this time she wasn't meeting up with Ino again because she was out doing a 'family thing'. She still hadn't told Ino about her brief encounter with Mr Weirdly Grumpy- Sorry, with Sasuke. She'd tell her eventually but for now she wanted to keep it to herself. Nevertheless Sakura entered the coffee shop alone again, enjoying the warmth of the coffee shop as she entered that meant she could unwind her scarf and start removing her many layers as she took in the aroma of ground coffee. She ordered her usual coffee and noticed that there were many empty tables today, but-

"Mind if I take this seat?" She asked and Sasuke stared, glanced up at her, and a small smile crept across his face.

"Sure" He said and this time he closed his book and gave her his full attention. Maybe she was doing something right.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura smiled humming to herself as she was slowly making her way to the coffee shop. This time she was finally able to meet up with Ino who had previously been too busy to meet Sakura on her day off and they both felt that it had been far too long since they had met and spoken face to face.

As usual Sakura ordered her coffee and turned to scan the room, she noticed Sasuke sitting in his usual seat out of the corner of her eye, he was reading as usual with a look of concentration on his face. Sakura grinned as she saw a blonde girl wave at her from across the room almost jumping out of her seat in excitement as she shouted her name. Sakura saw Sasuke glance up at the noise and frown in their direction before looking back down at the pages of his book and she smiled slightly to herself as she headed over to see Ino. Everything was just like it used to be, of course with the exception that she and Sasuke were sort of friends now. Not that she knew anymore about him.

"Hey Ino" She said slipping into the seat opposite her friend.

"Hi Sakura!" Ino was a cheerful as ever "I'm so sorry we haven't met up for ages." Sakura shrugged, anyway Ino didn't sound that apologetic if anything she seemed excited.

"It's no big deal you've been busy, we knew we wouldn't stay stuck with each other forever despite what we said when we were kids." Sakura said and Ino smiled as the memory when they promised to stay side by side came back to her.

"Friends forever, we thought we'd never be parted." She sighed placing a hand over her heart as she pretended to be caught up in her memories. Sakura snorted.

"We even dressed up as Siamese twins for Halloween, remember?" Sakura said with a grin as Ino grimaced slightly.

"That was a disaster, we could barely walk. I don't think we even got far round the entire estate." She said "It's something I try not to remember now along with all the other stupid things we did."

"And now look at us, just in our first full time jobs; fresh out of university, and you, Ino, with Shikamaru, I can't believe you've been dating for four years." Sakura said and Ino looked ridiculously pleased with herself.

"In secondary school I could barely stay interested in a guy for a month." Ino laughed slightly and Sakura smiled before taking a sip of her drink grimacing slightly as it was still far too hot for her to drink.

"You kept scaring them off!" Sakura said accusingly as she blew on her coffee in a futile attempt to cool it down and Ino looked shocked.

"Did not!" Ino protested and Sakura raised her eyebrows at her.

"Ino you had a reputation as a man eater, boys from our school practically fled from you in our final years as they thought you'd devour them and spit them back out again." Sakura said and Ino just stuck her tongue out at her.

"You're exaggerating." She said haughtily and they grinned at each other.

They looked away from each other and Sakura looked blankly at her coffee, and Sakura knew that Ino was probably doing the same as they were both lost in their own thoughts thinking back to their school days with each other. To the days where Sakura had to rely on her excellent memory so she wouldn't call Ino's new boyfriend the name last week's boyfriend had.

Her gaze was drawn to Sasuke's table and she could just about see him sitting behind Ino and she hesitated slightly wondering whether to tell Ino that she had spoken to him but at the same time she wanted to selfishly keep the few brief time with Sasuke to herself, those moments seemed somehow special to her, all the more so because of the rare moments when he was nice to her. Most of the time he was disinterested in what she had to say or watched her with a strange interest as if he couldn't quite believe what was in front of him. Although a small part of her hoped that he had a slightly better opinion of her than that.

"I'm impressed that you and Shikamaru have been together for so long, I remember when it was a record when you two had been dating for two whole months." Sakura said and Ino smiled briefly.

"Speaking of Shikamaru..." Ino started stopping Sakura's train of thought, Sakura glanced up at her friend over her steaming coffee.

"What is it?" Sakura frowned at Ino's troubled expression "You're not splitting up are you?"

"No it's not that" Ino was twisting her hands together on the table, Sakura recognised the habit Ino had always had; she only did it when you were nervous.

"What then?" Sakura asked her curiosity roused.

"He wants us to live together" Ino said quickly and Sakura put her coffee down.

"That great news Ino, are you going to do it?" She congratulated.

"Yeah but.." Ino frowned "I'd miss you Sakura." She took a deep breath "We've found this perfect house, it's in the next town and so much easier for Shikamaru to get to his job and I can easily get to mine there anyway we've both got cars and it'll only add another 20 minutes onto my journey, but with work and moving house, and everything I don't think..." Sakura put her hand over Ino's to reassure her feeling slightly touched that Ino was hesitating for her sake.

"It all sounds so great Ino, I suppose I'm envious of you, you've got a great boyfriend and things just keep getting better for you" She squeezed Ino's hand. "Enjoy it, you don't need and old childhood friend holding you back from your happiness, I can stand on my own two feet now, I'm not the child I was when I met you."

"So shy you almost blended into the background." Ino teased.

"Besides" Sakura continued ignoring the jibe although she did spare a moment to give Ino a dark look "It's not like we're going to lose contact completely we can still phone each other, email and all that, you won't get rid of me that easily." Ino smiled.

"And when I have children you're being the godmother, remember." She added.

"Children! You haven't even moved in with the guy yet!" Sakura protested and Ino laughed.

"We've had that planned for ages Sakura, and I'm being your children's godmother whether you like it or not!"

"Me? Have children? I need a boyfriend first." Sakura snorted.

"Then you better start looking." Ino quipped draining her coffee, and she gave Sakura a broad smile.

"Maybe I'll look in Sasuke." Sakura said lightly and Ino frowned at her. Sakura smiled smugly as Ino shot her a suspicious look. She was enjoying holding her fictional relationship over Ino for a while but even better, despite part of her wanting to hold on to Sasuke herself, she knew she'd relish the look on Io's face as she told her about their mystery man even more.

"And who is Sasuke? Who's made such terrible designs on my best friend?" She demanded and Sakura's smile widened.

"It's him." She said gesturing towards Sasuke where he sat reading and Ino turned round and looked from him to Sakura with her mouth slightly open in surprise.

"When did this happen and what else do you know?" Ino said leaning closer to Sakura in a conspiratorial manner. "Tell me everything." Sakura smiled at her and told her of the time she sat with Sasuke although Ino seemed put out that she didn't have many details about his life.

"I wasn't going to sit and interrogate him Ino." Sakura protested and Ino rolled her eyes. "He wasn't really talking to me much anyway. It was more me talking and him saying one word every so often."

"Why not you might not get another chance to find anything out." Ino said then she sighed dramatically "What if we get caught up in a drugs bust here and you could have found out to warn us away." She said and Sakura laughed.

"Ino the owner probably doesn't know any drugs other than aspirin." She said and Ino narrowed her eyes slightly.

"It's just a front, that's what she wants you to believe and you fell for it Sakura, I thought you were intelligent" Sakura kept laughing and Ino sighed "Oh, I'm going to miss this Sakura" she said sadly "I used to plan my whole week round this"

"Drinking coffee? Get Shikamaru to do that with you" Sakura said as she regained her composure and Ino rolled her eyes.

"That lazy bastard, I can't get him to do anything" Sakura laughed. They both fell silent and as Ino glanced at her watch her face fell.

"I have to leave now" Sakura nodded in understanding "I feel terrible" Ino continued. "You're my oldest friend and yet it seems I haven't got the time for you anymore" Sakura grinned at her friend.

"It's fine Ino, I understand, and who knows when I finally meet the future father of my children and your godchildren, maybe I won't have time to meet you anymore" She teased and Ino laughed and embraced her friend.

"I'm sorry to run out on this, I'll see you later, I promise, we'll have a longer chat next time and you are defiantly coming to the house warming party I won't take no for an answer!" Sakura nodded and finished her own coffee.

"Bye Ino" She watched her friend leave, the bell over the door ringing as she stepped out into the cold. Sakura sighed contentedly and picked up her belongings to leave.

"Hey" Someone said behind her and Sakura turned to face the voice.

"Sasuke, hi you could have said something earlier you know" Sakura said and Sasuke shrugged slightly.

"Your friend seems quite scary if you ask me" He said and Sakura smiled.

"She's alright, just a bit bossy" She said and glanced at his face which was as usual, unreadable, there was a slight pause as they stood awkwardly together and Sasuke seemed to be having some sort of internal struggle eventually he opened his mouth and spoke again.

"Are you alright?" She glanced at him with some surprise.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine" He raised his eyebrows at her. "Am I that transparent?" He said nothing, only continued watching her face as the expressions on it changed, Sakura sighed and sat down again so Sasuke was looking down at her. "Ino's so lucky, and she feels bad at not being able to meet up with me from now on"

"Why's that?" He asked although it seemed more of a question to allow Sakura to vent her feelings rather than out of a genuine interest most probably as he was looking out the window as he said it.

"She's moving in with her boyfriend, they're a great couple, and she's finally found someone she can't bend to her will" Sakura smiled ruefully. "I will miss her; I've known Ino for years"

"Hnn, I think I'd be glad to get rid of the person that's always been in my life" Sasuke muttered and Sakura gave him a disapproving look.

"Sasuke! You can't mean that!" He gave her an almost smile again.

"You haven't met Naruto" He retorted and she scowled at him.

"You still shouldn't say that" She chastised him and Sasuke shrugged

"Shouldn't I?" He said raising his eyebrows at her again.

"No" Sakura said firmly. He gave her a rueful smile and Sakura found herself smiling back. He had a nice smile, she thought, it completely transformed his face, making him seem a lot less serious.

"I have to get going" He said softly after they stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Going? Wait, you actually leave this place?" She said sarcastically, having never seen the coffee shop without him in all her times visiting it.

"Very funny" He said dryly. "I'll see you around" He headed for the door and Sakura stared at him as he left, she sighed again and moment later left the coffee shop herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Weeks past and Sakura still frequented the coffee shop even though she went there on her own. At first it seemed strange without Ino but she began to look forward to going there, it was a way to break up her week, a time to do something other than work and chores and she took advantage of this time to relax with a book – something she never seemed to have the time for anymore.

Sakura used to read a lot when she was at school but then she got caught up with work, essays and trying to have a social life and stay in contact with all her old friends that reading got pushed to the bottom of her list of priorities. Relaxing now meant to Sakura settling down in front of the television, preferably with a glass of wine and some chocolate, after a long and exhausting day's work at the hospital.

But now once a week Sakura sat with a coffee in the coffee shop by herself and read. She reread the books she enjoyed when she was younger and then branched out to read anything she could lay her hands on; fantasy, horror, trashy romances, award winning books and all the classics. Loosing herself in the different worlds and realities that each book offered, enjoying the problems each character faced and resolutions that arose at the end. To Sakura, it was a little piece of heaven each week, and she enjoyed her new routine it was so much better than spending her time vacuuming.

Other people watched in some amusement as she seemed to have become so similar to the dark haired young man who also regularly came in for a coffee with a book. They also only sat a few tables away from each other but never together.

Sakura sat at a table with a large steaming cup of coffee in one hand, staring at her book. She had been rereading the same paragraph for ages and nothing was going in. She had fallen into some sort of routine every week she headed to the coffee shop, got her usual coffee, sitting down usually, but not, she told herself, intentionally, near Sasuke, and read for an hour or two. But today her routine was broken.

Sakura scowled at the page she was staring at. Where was Sasuke? He was always there, every time she visited the shop when she was with Ino and even now when she came alone, Sasuke was always there without fail. And she had been frequenting that same cafe for about a year. It seemed odd, wrong even, for him to not be a few tables across from her reading and Sakura felt his lack of presence quite keenly.

A shadow fell across her book and Sakura looked up feeling slightly hopeful that it might be Sasuke.

"Can I sit here?" A tall blond man with scruffy looking hair was standing in front of her and Sakura for some reason felt disappointed. "Every where else is full."

A small smile flitted across her face as she recalled the time she did this to Sasuke, Sakura nodded.

"Sure." She said politely.

"Whew!" The man said, practically jumping into the seat opposite her, he gave her a large grin. "Thanks!" And she smiled hesitantly back. "And I'll try not to bother you now, I know my friend would murder me, figuratively speaking of course, well I hope actually, I don't know really. But he would kill me if I bothered him; or ignore me which would be the better option." He added as an afterthought.

"It's fine, I wasn't really concentrating on it anyway" Sakura assured him and was greeted once again with his large smile.

"Something troubling you?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's just - some small things really" Sakura replied, "Nothing important."

"That's a matter of opinion really." The man flashed her another smile. "Come on tell me your troubles!" Sakura stared at him wondering if he was attempting to be friendly or held some strange interest in her life. Either way it was slightly unnerving.

"To you?" She said in surprise. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so..."

"Horrified?" He suggested.

"No it's just – tell my petty grievances to a random guy I just met and don't even know the name of, no thanks." Sakura said firmly expecting him to back off a little.

"In that case let me tell you my name!" The blond seize one of her hands.

"You don't have to, that's not exactly going to change anything we have just met and it's still really weird." Sakura started, panicking slightly, and he just grinned at her as she tried to pull his hand from hers. He seemed strangely amused.

"Well-" He started.

"I wasn't aware that you two knew each other." Someone interrupted to Sakura's intense relief. They both turned and Sakura gaped at the person standing next to them.

"Sasuke." Sakura squeaked. She took in his appearance and frowned, he wore a t-shirt and jeans which was highly unusual for late autumn and his checks were flushed pink from the cold wind. He turned his gaze on her and she realised that the stranger was still holding her hand.

"Um…" She said rather desperately, "You know this person?" With her free hand she pointed towards the man who was still smiling across the table from her.

"This lady was just going to tell me all her problems." The man said cheerfully, when Sasuke turned his stony gaze on him.

"No I wasn't." Sakura protested and Sasuke smiled slightly.

"Sakura, this is my friend Naruto" he said taking a seat "And I hope you've revised your opinion of his that he can't be that bad.'" Sakura looked at Naruto who was still grinning cheerfully at her from across the table, seemingly unperturbed by Sasuke's casual insult.

"Oh" She said as she made another unsuccessful attempt to yank her hand out of Naruto's grasp "nice to meet you I guess." Sasuke reached over and yanked Naruto's arm back so he was forced to let go of Sakura's hand.

"Thank you." Sakura said quietly to Sasuke. He spared her a brief glance before fixing his gaze on Naruto and Sakura tried to see if she could still move her fingers after the iron grip they had been subjected too.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked Naruto and Sakura suddenly felt uneasy as she wondered where this was going. Naruto sighed.

"I was looking for you."


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura sat uneasily looking between the two men she was with as Sasuke glared at Naruto with a strange expression on his face. It was more than just anger on his face, Sakura studied Sasuke's expression and he looked slightly anxious as well, as if whatever Naruto was going to say didn't bode well for him.

Naruto ignored Sasuke's hostile look and slumped back in his chair.

"Where have you been all this time?" He complained. "I've been looking for you for ages, ever since you left the office, what have you been doing?"He asked and Sasuke just shrugged.

"I went for a walk" He said simply as Naruto looked at him incredulously.

"Dressed like that?" Naruto said looking accusingly at Sasuke's attire as he was ridiculously underdressed for winter.

"Mmm." Sasuke said only half listening as he looked at Sakura who was still looking up at him in shock.

"In this weather?" Naruto demanded.

"Uh-huh." Sakura frowned taking in Sasuke's appearance also, he worked in an office? She couldn't think of any offices she knew that let their workers wear casual dress, and Naruto had implied that he worked their too and he was also in jeans but at least he wore a coat and scarf unlike Sasuke who had nothing to protect him from the colder weather.

Naruto sighed "I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you am I?" He said to himself before turning to the girl that had captured Sasuke's attention. She was looking at them both curiously but when Naruto turned to look at her she looked away and began fiddling with her half empty cup of coffee.

"So Sakura, right?" Naruto continued, ignoring the glare Sasuke had shot at him but Sakura nodded anyway. "How do you know Sasuke?"

"We met by chance really." Sakura said with a shrug.

"Chance?" Naruto said and Sakura realised that he was trying to prod her for information.

"Chance." She said shortly and Naruto sighed.

"Am I allowed to ask where?" He said.

"No." Sasuke said but it was at the same time Sakura replied with; "Here." Naruto smirked.

"Really?" He said giving Sakura a piercing stare. "And how did that work? I wouldn't have thought Sasuke would easily speak to a stranger." Naruto said archly as Sasuke's glare became more intense.

"Um, he didn't, I mostly spoke to him." Sakura replied feeling uneasy with the dangerous looks Sasuke was shooting the man sitting opposite her.

"Really? Heh, that's typical." Naruto said with a laugh and at this point Sakura was surprised that Naruto couldn't feel Sasuke's glare burning through the side of his head. It gave the phrase 'if looks could kill' new meaning as Naruto, by rights, should be a smoking pile of ash by now Sasuke looked that furious at him.

She began to wonder why Naruto felt the need to question her so much when she and Sasuke were barely passing acquaintances, they had spoken to each other a grand total of twice and hadn't even acknowledged each other when they were both in the coffee shop after that. Not like the elderly couple she often saw when she was walking there who always smiled at her and wished her a good day.

"So." Sakura cast around trying to change the subject. "How do you know Sasuke?"

"We've known each other for absolutely ages!" Naruto said with an enthusiastic grin and there was something in his boundless energy that reminded Sakura of Ino which slightly softened her attitude towards him.

"Unfortunately." Sasuke muttered, but either Naruto didn't hear it or chose to ignore it as he didn't react to this jibe. Maybe he was just used to the way Sasuke was.

"Aw, I've known my best friend Ino since we were about five." Sakura said.

"You two must be really close." Naruto said cheerfully and Sakura smiled softly.

"Yeah, she's moving away now. Just to the next town, I'm really happy for her." She hastily added as she saw Naruto's face soften with sympathy and the sudden fear came over her that he might try to grab her hand again. "She's moving in with her boyfriend."

"That's great!" Naruto grinned, and Sakura began to wonder if he ever saw anything negative in things. It must be nice to have such a bright outlook in life.

"Yeah..." Sakura said as she began to wonder how Naruto and Sasuke were friends when they were so radically different, Sasuke had always seemed so quiet but in this one encounter with Naruto Sakura felt herself being swept up by his enthusiasm for things. Maybe that was what had happened to Sasuke but from the hard expression of Sasuke's face she guessed that there was something else that endeared Naruto to him rather than just being caught up in Naruto's enthusiasm for all things for however many years.

"Sakura?" A soft voice asked, and Sakura was interrupted for the third time that afternoon, she turned.

"Hinata?" She stared at the soft spoken girl near her table. "What are you doing here?" Hinata began talking nervously, acutely aware of the company Sakura already had, and that they had all shifted their attention to her.

"Well, Ino wanted us to check up on you sometime, but that not the main reason why we're here." She added seeing Sakura's face darken "Tenten has some news, and she won't say anything to me yet until you were there to hear it."

"What about Ino?" Sakura asked wondering why the last of their circle of close friends didn't need to be there.

"She already knows." Hinata sighed "Which means she's started to gloat, but apparently its pretty good whatever she has to say."

"Well have a seat, where's Tenten?" Sakura said cheerfully inviting her friend to sit at the already crowded table.

"She went to get the coffee" Hinata replied, sitting herself between Sakura and Naruto, she offered Sakura's companions a small smile which Naruto returned with a giant grin of his own making Hinata turn pink, while Sasuke just nodded at her. Sakura moved her chair over so there was room for Tenten as well and she found herself sitting even closer to Sasuke, the alternative being the ever cheerful, hand-stealing Naruto. Sakura shifted awkwardly in her seat, she could feel Sasuke next to her and he was surprisingly warm for someone who had been walking around in a t-shirt in the middle of winter.

"Sakura!" A sing song voice came up behind them and Tenten squeezed in between Hinata and Sakura placing down some coffee for herself and Hinata.

"Hi Tenten." Sakura said taking a sip of her own, which was getting cold, Tenten waved to Sasuke and Naruto then leant forward to talk to the two girls.

"Guess what?" There was a pause.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"No guess!" Tenten insisted and Hinata groaned slightly.

"Not this Tenten." She complained "haven't you kept me in suspense enough already?"

"No." Tenten replied and then turned to Sakura "Guess."

"I dunno…um. You're not moving as well are you?" Sakura said casting a quick look at Naruto and Sasuke who seemed to be having a hushed conversation.

"Mmm, maybe." Tenten said with a mischievous smile. Sakura saw Naruto trying to say something forcefully to Sasuke, he momentarily grasped Sasuke's arm and was quickly shook off. Sasuke shook his head slightly and glanced at Sakura. She blushed suddenly, having been caught staring at him and turned her full attention back to Tenten.

"Maybe?" Hinata questioned.

"That's not quite it" Tenten said cheerfully.

"Um.." Sakura said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Neji proposed!" And nearly spat it out.

"What?" Sakura shouted and Hinata stared at her.

"Cousin Neji?" Tenten nodded vigorously.

"Do you even know another Neji?" She asked and Hinata shook her head sheepishly.

"Neji Hyuuga?" This was from Sasuke, they all turned to stare at him and Tenten nodded.

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "He kept saying he didn't have a girlfriend."

"What?" Tenten stared at him horrified.

"Although if Naruto had found out that Neji did he would have teased him mercilessly, so you can see why he didn't want to say anything." Sasuke pointed out. Tenten pouted.

"He didn't need to act as if he was ashamed of me." She said sullenly and Sasuke gave a sideways look at Naruto.

"More like the other way round I think." He said and Naruto scowled at him.

"Hey" What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded.

"What do you think?" Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other, and Tenten giggled.

"I can kind of see why Neji's so reluctant for me to meet his friends."

"Especially as every time Naruto see's him, he asks him whether he's come clean to his family about being gay, which probably doesn't encourage him to confide in you." Sasuke said dryly giving Naruto a wry look. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"So, when did he propose to you Tenten?" Sakura asked.

"Last night." Tenten said with a goofy smile on her face and Hinata leaned towards her interested.

"How did he do it?" She asked wondering how her cousin had managed to propose to someone.

"Well, I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't that romantic." Tenten sighed, which caught Naruto's attention so he stopped trying to outstare Sasuke and began to pay attention to their conversation. Sasuke smirked in triumph and Sakura took note of the competitive streak between them. "It was just the same as any other date and then he walked me to my door, kissed me goodnight and then muttered 'will you marry me?' but I didn't hear him so I was standing there going 'what?' while he was going bright red." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Anyway I finally got the question out of him again, went completely hysterical, I mean I'm still so excited now, I was so much worse last night, I actually screamed, gave him a hug and whatever he says I did not deafen him. And I said yes." Sakura giggled.

"Nothing like you used to imagine then?" She asked thinking of the childish dreams any girl has about a having a large romantic gesture as a marriage proposal.

"No." Tenten muttered, and Hinata smiled.

"I can't image cousin Neji being that romantic though." Hinata said and Naruto grinned.

"No most of the time he acts like he's got a stick up his-" He began.

"Shut up, Naruto." Sasuke interrupted and Sakura giggled.

"You can tell that you two have known each other for years." She said and Sasuke pulled a face.

"You can?" He asked, Sakura nodded.

It was strange for the other customers to see that the two regulars who usually sat alone with a book were conversing easily with each other and a group of others. Other customers that frequented the coffee shop, amused themselves and talked about the two readers amongst their friends, wondering why they always sat alone when they knew each other, some tables came with wild conspiracy stories similar to the ones that Ino and Sakura had come up with about Sasuke themselves, others created reasons that were more mundane, but as the customers came and when the large group stayed together round the small table, talking and laughing together as other customers came and went.

Tenten stretched slightly as she sat back with a small smile on her face.

"I should go, my lunch breaks nearly up, and I don't want to stay late as I'm meeting Neji" She said sadly and Hinata made to move as well.

"Me too." The quieter girl said pulling her jacket on, "who knows what my co-workers have got up to in my absence." Sakura laughed, she had heard stories about Hinata's office, as far as she could tell the rest of the employees acted like children whereas Hinata was more of a mother figure to them trying to get them to behave.

"See you later Sakura." Tenten hugged her friend goodbye.

"Bye." Hinata said softly doing the same.

"Bye you two." Sakura replied and turned to face her two remaining companions.

"So." She said, but Naruto stretched as well.

"I should be going too." He muttered "I better not push it, Gai's already complained about me being late once." He turned to his friend.

"What about you Sasuke?" He asked.

"I'll stay a bit longer." Sasuke said and Naruto frowned.

"If you say so, here." He said sounding concerned and he gave Sasuke the coat her had been carrying around with him. "It was why I was looking for you in the first place, you shouldn't do that, there'll be hell to pay later." Sasuke shrugged.

Naruto sighed. "I'll see you later then." Sasuke nodded.

And that left the two of them, Sasuke glanced at his watch.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to get some lunch?" Sakura paused, usually if she was presented with a situation like this she would have declined, she barely knew Sasuke anyway and Ino always used to say that this was why she never met anyone new.

But…

"Sure." She said "I'd love to." They gathered their belongings and left the coffee shop, this time together.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura walked briskly beside Sasuke as they wandered through the grey streets together their breath forming clouds in front of their faces. It was still very cold and she struggled to pull her gloves of as she kept up with Sasuke's quick pace. It was strangely exhilarating to be walking alongside Sasuke outside the coffee shop which was the only place they had spent time together previously.

She glanced up at him, the harsh winter light making his skin seem so pale it was almost white. Sasuke noticed that she was looking at him and his expression softened slightly at the small girl who was almost running to keep up with him.

"Where do you want to go for lunch then?" Sasuke asked, slowing down slightly so Sakura was no longer taking two steps for every one of his. Sakura still had to walk quickly to keep up with his long strides though.

"Um, I don't know." Sakura said shyly. "Is there anywhere nearby?"

"Let's have a look shall we?" He said simply.

They soon found a small café in a side street and ordered some lunch. It was strange, Sakura reflected, seeing Sasuke outside the coffee shop especially as he was with her. She had come to associate him with that place and he looked out of place anywhere else. At least to her he did. Sasuke frowned at her.

"What?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Nothing." Sakura said feeling unable to tell him her thoughts.

"It's obviously something." He said his frown deepening.

"You know you shouldn't frown so much." Sakura said absentmindedly, taking a bite of her sandwich. He just stared at her.

"What?"He asked confused by the sudden change in the conversation.

"You look a lot better when you smile." She and as she said it she felt herself blush and a small part of her brain was trying to get her to stop talking "You know, more attractive, not that you're not attractive anyway, I mean." She trailed off feeling flustered and cleared her throat awkwardly as her brain managed to catch up with her mouth and stop it before it did any more damage. Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"I'll bear that in mind." He muttered. Sakura stayed silent not trusting herself not to say anything without embarrassing herself again. Sasuke studied her expression for a while and then gave her a broad smile even if it didn't quite reach his eyes Sakura felt her heart jump slightly as he looked at her

"Better?" Sasuke asked and Sakura found herself blushing heavily again.

"Um." She squeaked, and Sasuke chuckled slightly. She glared at him, and then stuck her tongue out. Sasuke gave her a flat look and rolled his eyes and Sakura gave him a sheepish grin.

"Do you want to go somewhere else now?" Sasuke asked when they were finished. Sakura frowned thoughtfully. She knew he probably should have been at work from what Naruto had said, and he was probably late back from his break already, she didn't want him to get into any more trouble. Although Sasuke showed no sign of wanting to go back or of having a guilty conscience.

"Come on." Sasuke said, smiling at her. She bit her lip, trying to ignore that fact that he could obviously be quite charming when he wanted to be. She knew she had all day as she wasn't working today, but Sasuke was and she didn't want him to get fired because of her.

"Sakura?"

Or suspended or whatever they did where he worked, what if they made him leave without and any verbal or written warnings or…

"Please?" He asked in a soft voice.

Oh sod it, it was his own fault anyway for talking her into it anyway her conscience was clear, or clear enough.

"Fine" Sakura said huffily as she didn't want him to think she had given in too easily "What shall we do now?" Sasuke held her coat our for her.

"Let's go for a walk."

"In this weather are you kidding?" Sakura asked and he just gave her a small smile. "It's freezing." She protested as Sasuke dragged her out of the warm café and into the cold air and she quickly began pulling on her extra layers, it was getting dark already and some of the street lights were starting to turn on, some flickering oddly as if undecided whether it was dark enough yet. The sudden bursts of light made Sakura uneasy and she hurried to catch up with Sasuke.

"Then walk fast" He called back to her, pulling on her arm to make her keep up.

"You're mad." She insisted doing a little jog to keep up with him as she wound her scarf round her neck.

"Come on I'll show you something." He dragged her across the road, and Sakura squeaked in alarm, she was sure he didn't check to see in any cars were coming, and as she turned her head she was sure that they had received some rude gestures from the angry drivers.

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked. Sasuke turned his head slightly to look across at her, her check were flushed from the cold air and fast walking pace but her green eyes shimmered with excitement, she was interested that was for sure.

"It's a secret." He teased, and he saw Sakura glare at him.

"What?" She said her irritation showing, then she gave another squeak as he pulled her into a building. "Sasuke!"

"Oh look who it is." Said another voice, "Aren't you meant to be working Sasuke?" Sasuke gave the man a stony look. "Oh one of those days is it?" The voice continued.

"We'll just head on up, is that alright Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.

"We?" The man at the reception desk looked up to see Sakura, his face was half covered by a book, his one visible eye crinkled up when he saw her, he seemed to be smiling.

"By all means." He said gesturing towards the stairs, and somehow he managed to make that simple comment sound lecherous and Sasuke made a strange noise in the back of his throat as Kakashi continued to eye them both.

"Come on." Sasuke led Sakura towards the staircase.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"Up." Sasuke called over his shoulder Sakura sighed resigning herself to the fact that she probably wouldn't get a straight answer and allowed him to lead her up several flights of stairs.

Sasuke paused at a door at the very top when there were no more stairs to go up, he looked across at Sakura who felt exhausted but she was trying to regulate her breathing so Sasuke wouldn't see her out of breath.

"Ready?" She nodded unsure of what to expect, and when the door opened cold air came in. They went outside.

"The roof?" Sakura asked unsure of where this was going. Sasuke grabbed her wrist again and led her across the concrete to the edge and leant on the wall surrounding it, Sakura imitated him.

"Wow." She breathed looking down at the city "The people look like ants!" Sasuke watched her face lit up with delight as she looked down on everything and everyone. She smiled at him, the half light casting heavy shadows on her face.

"This is amazing Sasuke." She said looking at him brightly.

"And we're in time to see the sun set." Sasuke said and Sakura frowned, she hated winter when the days were too short and it started to get dark at around four o'clock.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't like winter much." Sakura said glumly.

"I didn't think, you would." Sasuke said and Sakura frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura demanded.

"You don't seem to look like someone that would like it that's all." He said raising his hands slightly in a peaceful gesture.

"Oh? And what about you?" She asked Sasuke shrugged.

"I can tolerate it, you can get used to anything."

"Hmm." Sakura folder her arms and huddled into her coat. He hadn't given her much of an answer. "I don't see how you can stand the cold." Sasuke glanced at her shivering and pulled of the coat he'd gotten from Naruto and dumped it on her head.

"Here." He said.

"You can't do that, you'll freeze." Sakura protested once she'd pulled herself free from it.

"I'll be fine." Sasuke said looking out across the city. "Besides you're cold." Sakura pulled the coat round her.

"Thanks." She slipped her arm through his. "For the coat and for showing me this."

The two stood together, leaning on the concrete watching the tiny people move about beneath them, the light was fading fast and everyone seemed to be in a hurry to be somewhere, anywhere as long as it was out of the cold. The sky was changing colours, it wasn't a rich sunset of romantic pinks with streaks of orange cutting through the sky, the light was fading and the white sun was half hidden by clouds. The light blue and grey sky that had hovered over everyone for the day darkened into a deep mauve, and soon the sky was black with the clouds too heavy for any stars to be seen.

The city at night seemed more impressive though, or so Sakura thought, she could just make out dark shapes moving beneath the street lights and the headlights of cars could easily be seen navigating the roads. Shops and bars were well lit up trying to entice more customers in with their warmth. Light appeared behind them and Sasuke half turned as the door opened and another figure joined them on the roof.

"I just got off the phone to your brother Sasuke." Kakashi said coming up beside them, Sakura felt Sasuke go ridged. "He wanted to know where you've been."

"And what did you tell him?" Sasuke's voice had a hard edge to it.

"That I hadn't seen you and didn't he have better things to do than bother an old man at work." Sasuke snorted.

"I bet he loved that." He muttered and Kakashi viewed the younger man with concern.

"You might want to be careful." He said gently briefly laying his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke shook him off but Kakashi didn't seem to be perturbed by this.

"Thanks Kakashi." The older man left and Sakura wondered how he could navigate across the roof to the door in the dark. There was a burst of light as the door opened again and then they were left in darkness again. Sakura tilted her head back and shut her eyes, listening to the roar of cars and murmuring of far off voices, somewhere a cat yowled and there was the odd clatter and she could hear a siren.

Sakura opened her eyes and she could see Sasuke looking down at the lights and the shadowy figures of people now probably on their way home from work. Sakura took her phone from her pocket and squinted as the harsh light from the screen, it was nearly five. Sasuke had turned his head to face her; he was hard to make out in the dark with his black hair and dark clothing, but even without the light from her phone she could feel that his gaze on her, with the light though she could tell that his eyes were unreadable.

Sakura smiled at him.

"Shall we do something else?" She asked and he raised one eyebrow.

"Like what?" Sasuke questioned.

"I don't know, it's getting cold up here and you must be freezing as I've got your coat, let's go somewhere to thaw." The light from her phone had faded but Sasuke managed to find her hand in the dark anyway, she knew she was right that he was cold, his hand was like ice she could feel it through her gloves.

"Alright" He led her back across the roof and back into the hallway at the top of the stairs. Sakura pulled his coat off her shoulders and handed it to him, he shook his head and tried to give it back to her.

"I'm fine Sasuke and you're frozen anyway." She tugged off a glove and placed a hand on his arm and withdrew it quickly "see?" she said pulling the glove back on. He still didn't move, so she took it from his hand and put it over his shoulders anyway.

"You're irritating you know that?" He asked pulling the coat on properly, Sakura just smiled at him.

"I don't care; I won't have you catching pneumonia." Sasuke glanced at her as they made their way down the flights of stairs.

"So, how about some coffee?" He asked. Sakura smiled.

"I think some soup would be appropriate"

"Soup it is then." He pushed the double doors open and, after nodding at Kakashi, who was back to reading at his desk, they both left the warm building and went out into the cold again. The two wandered through the empty streets, seeming to be the only ones mad enough to be out in the cold, the street light illuminated their path as they headed for the town centre. Sakura threaded her arm through his, walking close to him for warmth.

"Sasuke?" She asked.

"Yeah?" He looked down at her as they walked together, and Sakura glanced up at his face.

"Today's been fun, thanks for dragging me out here." She said and Sasuke gave her a small smile.

"Anytime." He muttered.

"I'll hold you to that." Sakura giggled and then she spotted a small restaurant, light up with warm light bathing the streets with a golden glow from the large windows, she stopped walking pulling Sasuke to a halt with her.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's go in there" She suggested he shrugged,

"If you want" He wandered over to the restaurant and pushed the door open letting out a wave of heat, Sasuke looked back at her as if to say, are you coming? And Sakura shook her head slightly and followed, dashing through the open door first

Sakura sighed contentedly as the heat of the restaurant enveloped her and she smiled at Sasuke who had positioned himself next to her.

"It's nice in here isn't it?" She asked.

"Mm." Was his only reply as he took in their surroundings. The walls were painted a mix of oranges and yellows which made the place seem even friendlier and there were very few customers, he could see someone rushing towards them already, eager to have something to do.

"Table for two?" The waitress asked.

"Yes please." Sakura answered.

"Any preferences for seating?" She asked eyeing the two of them.

After a quick glance at Sasuke who shrugged Sakura said;

"Near the window if that's alright."

"Sure follow me then please." They were seated by the window so Sakura could easily see out into the dark night and deserted streets that she had previously watched from the roof, and the waitress rattled off the specials they had that day. They both agreed on the soup, it was tomato that day, and were left in peace. Voices from the restaurant drifted over to them.

"They're a cute couple, eh?" It was the waitress that had seated them.

"Must be mad to be out at this time though." Said another voice only to be immediately shushed by its companion.

"Oh stop it, they're probably just enjoying themselves."

"It's freezing though." Said the more practical of the two.

"You have no sense of romance."

Sakura felt her ears go red, Sasuke noticed and smirked at her.

"Is there a problem?" He asked innocently.

"Can't you hear that? They think we're dating." She hissed and Sasuke's smile widened.

"So ignore it." He said looking out of the window and Sakura looked flustered.

"But-" She began.

"Here you go." It was a different waitress this time probably the one who thought they were mad, "Two soups." She said smiling at them while setting them in front of them, they both muttered a thanks and Sakura was turning steadily more red. Sasuke looked slightly amused at her expression, she glared at him and he gave her a quick smile, which made her feel even more embarrassed as she was acutely aware that she had told him earlier that he was attractive when he smiled, damn him.

"Isn't it bothering you?" She demanded struggling to get the conversation onto slightly safer ground.

"Ignore it." He repeated. "What does it matter?"

"It matters because we're obviously not." Sakura said struggling to make sense in her own mind why she was so bothered by it. She wasn't dating Sasuke and he was right, why should it matter to her if others thought she was, but still, she shook her head vigorously and realised that Sasuke was watching her with some amusement. She glared furiously at him.

"What?" She snapped, but he only smiled at her. The waitress came over again and cleared their plates.

"Is there anything else you'd like?" She asked and Sasuke glanced at Sakura who shook her head.

"No we're fine thanks." He said.

"I'll get you the bill then" When it came to paying Sasuke insisted on buying Sakura's meal as well, much to her annoyance as in her opinion it just made them seem even more like a couple. They ended up leaving the restaurant and wandering the city streets again.

A thin trickle of music came into their hearing and, curious, they followed it to its source; a restaurant was open with music playing to try and entice customers inside. A small smile played across Sakura's face and she hummed along with the tune, Sasuke watched her as she shyly began to dance, embarrassed to be doing it in public even though the streets were deserted. Sasuke approached her and took her hand, Sakura turned to look at him as he stood in front of her and placed his hand on her waist. She smiled and they danced together out in the cold night air, a small blush spread across Sakura's cheeks and they heard whispered voices from the restaurant as its staff watched them dance outside.

"Sasuke, what happens now?" Sakura asked suddenly and Sasuke looked quizzically at her.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"I mean." Sakura swallowed "Won't you get into trouble for skipping work?" It was the first time any of them had brought up work and their real lives in conversation, before they usually kept to frivolous things and Sakura was acutely aware that she didn't know any real facts about him.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

"But-" Sakura began.

"Its fine, I can handle it." Sasuke said sharply and Sakura looked down feeling dejected, Sasuke sighed.

"Sorry." He muttered.

They stayed silent for a while both still moving to the steps that every couple danced at weddings, parties, any time a slow song came on.

"So what will happen now?" Sakura asked again and Sasuke looked at her curiously, "I mean do we do back to sitting at different ends of the coffee shop again and ignoring each other." Sasuke looked thoughtful.

"Are you always free this day?" Sakura frowned slightly before answering.

"Yes, unless we're short staffed at work and I have to go in."

"Okay, I'll meet you next week in the coffee shop." Sakura looked up sharply, her heart beat had sped up at the thought of spending more time with him. _Yeah right_, some stray thoughts floated to the front of her mind _as you don't want any more people thinking you're a couple do you?_ Sometimes Sakura really hated her sarcastic side, so what if it bothered her that people thought they were dating, it didn't mean they couldn't spend any more time together at least she knew that they were just friends. Sakura inwardly put her foot down on any further arguments she may have with herself_._

"Sure, what time?" She asked trying to sound casual.

"Say, one o' clock?" Sakura nodded, and they stopped dancing Sasuke let go of her hands.

"I'll see you then, then." He said with a warm smile.

"Bye." She said softly and they turned and left each heading home at last.

* * *

'_And as a man with tired hands watches a young couple dance in the car park of his restaurant, there are only these;_ _sparkling_ _eyes, smudged lipstick, faded starlight_,_ the crunching of feet on gravel, laughter and a slow walk home'_

~Jon McGregor, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning!" Sakura sang as she came through the door to work. She shed her coat and scarf and wandered over to the cupboard they kept their personal belongings in to hang it all up.

"What's so good about it?" Temari asked, looking glumly over a mug of coffee which she was sincerely hoping would wake her up a bit.

"My life is starting to look up, that's all. So what did I miss yesterday on my day off?" Sakura said cheerfully

"The whole world seemed to want to come here for flu vaccines, you missed our busiest day so far." Temari frowned as she watched Sakura move around the reception area of the small doctors practise. "How's your life looking up then? Only a few days ago you complained that everyone you knew seemed to be pairing off and that you were doomed to roam through life single and alone." Sakura smiled at Temari.

"I never said that, I was happy for Ino, although you're right about people pairing off, my friend Tenten's now engaged she told us yesterday." Sakura said and Temari looked at her suspiciously which began to make Sakura feel nervous.

"You've met someone." Temari said finally.

"How did you know from that?" Sakura demanded and Temari grinned at her as she didn't try to deny it.

"Sakura! Who is it?" She asked and Sakura felt herself going red.

"Temari-" She protested but was interrupted.

"Who's who?" Tsunade their boss came out of her office and sat on the edge of the reception desk.

"Sakura's met someone." Temari said gleefully.

"I have not!" Sakura protested as she stood by the coffee machine making herself a drink. "It wasn't like it was a date or anything."

"Oh? So there is someone." Tsunade said. "Who? I want name, age, profession, and their whole life story would be nice."

"I don't know that much about him." Sakura said weakly as she could see herself loosing this argument, it wasn't fair it was two against one. Especially as both Tsunade and Temari had a bad habit of mothering her it was as if they didn't think she could look after herself.

"Tell us what you do know then." Temari chipped in smiling.

"He's called Sasuke, he goes to the same coffee place as I do, he reads a lot and he knows Neji Tenten's fiancé."

"Isn't there always someone who reads where you go for coffee?" Temari asked and Sakura nodded.

"Is it him?" Sakura stared as Temari's grey-blue eyes light up.

"Um...yes?" She said cautiously.

"The one you and your friend Ino seem obsessed with?" Temari said and Tsunade looked at the younger women with some amusement as Sakura's expression began to take on a deer caught in the headlights kind of look.

"We're not obsessed, he's just interesting." Sakura insisted as her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, she regretted telling Temari about them watching Sasuke now.

"I've got to meet this person." Temari muttered "He must be really something to have you and Ino talking about him for months on end."

"You make it sound like Sasuke's all we talk about." Tsunade smiled.

"Well I think Shikamaru did come up in conversation a few times to be fair." She said in a teasing manner which made Sakura flush even more.

"Oh, stop it you two." She muttered

"Does Ino know?" Temari asked.

"Know what?" Sakura asked wearily.

"That you have been meeting up with the subject of all your conversations and obsessions, the man you've concocted elaborate fantasies about and-"

"Alright that's enough I get the picture." Sakura said glaring at her. "Jeez." She muttered and Temari grinned at Tsunade when Sakura wasn't looking.

"I only hope he can live up to all the wild fantasies they've had about him." She said raising her eyebrows slightly "I'd hate for Sakura to be disappointed." Tsunade smirked and Sakura turned and gave them a rather fixed smile.

"Don't talk to me again unless it's to tell me when I have an appointment." She said firmly before walking off towards her small office. Temari and Tsunade exchanged a look.

"Do you think we pushed it too far?" Temari looked up as Tsunade through her thick blonde fringe.

"No, she's used to our teasing she'll be over it soon." Temari smirked "He must be pretty special to have her that flustered after something that wasn't even a date." Tsunade smiled.

"We didn't even find out if she was meeting him again." She said and Temari sighed.

"Shame."

Sakura sighed leaning with her back against the door in her office. It was small but functional and there was just enough room for herself and a patient, she had all she needed in it anyway. Sakura moved over to her desk and logged into her computer, she didn't have an appointment for the first hour of work. Sakura sighed again, now what should she do; she couldn't talk to Temari as she usually would because she'd have to face more of her teasing.

The computer beeped, showing the she had email. Sakura brought up her inbox and found it to be from Temari, with an apology in it that wasn't half as grovelling as Sakura wanted it to be which she told her in her reply.

There was a knock at the door, and it opened without Sakura even replying to it, Temari stood there with an apologetic look on her face and a mug of coffee in her hand.

"I'm sorry Sakura but you'd do the same to me, if I met someone." She said and Sakura tried to take the moral high ground.

"I wouldn't." Instead she sounded like a sulky child.

"Liar." Temari said with a lopsided smile.

"I wouldn't do it as much as you did." Sakura was aware that this was turning into a futile argument.

"Here, you forgot this." Temari passed her some coffee. "As I know you won't get through the day without it" Sakura smiled at her gratefully and decided that she could be nice as well.

"You're hair looks nice today." She said and Temari gave a sheepish smile.

"Thanks. I wanted to try something different but when my brothers say it they just stared at me as if I was some kind of alien." Sakura smiled at her, instead of the usual pigtails Temari wore her hair was separated into two French plats down the side of her head.

"It is different, but it looks good." Sakura said and Temari smiled at her.

"Are you seeing him again?" Temari asked carefully, not wanting to provoke Sakura further. Her friend nodded her green eyes focused on the screen as she tried to appear nonchalant about it but Sakura was unable to hide the smile that crept across her face.

"Next Wednesday." She said and found it had to contain the glee in her voice.

"Have fun." Temari said softly "And be aware that you'll face an even bigger interrogation then." Sakura stuck her tongue out at her. "What are you doing?" Temari continued.

"I don't know, meeting up at the coffee place and then we'll see where we go from there."

"Sounds very vague, I'm surprised usually you'd want some kind of itinerary." Temari said thinking of Sakura's organisational abilities.

"Ha ha." Sakura muttered "For your information I spent the whole of yesterday afternoon wandering from place to place with Sasuke without really knowing what we were going to do after. I did not demand an itinerary then." Temari gave her a fond smile.

"I'm proud of you Sakura." Sakura glared and Temari backed away from her. "And now I'll leave you to your work I guess, I can't leave the reception desk empty, Tsunade would have a fit. Have fun on Wednesday though on your unplanned date." Sakura flushed.

"It isn't a date'" She hissed and Temari raised an eyebrow. "We're just friends."

"Hmm." Temari left Sakura's office just as Sakura shrieked after her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura was smiling. She knew she looked foolish smiling at nothing but she couldn't help it. She had spent a fabulous lunch time with Sasuke and was relishing the break in her routine, and this was the girl Ino had mocked for wanting to know the details of everything, where they were going, what times, who would be there and so on before committing herself to going out somewhere. With Sasuke she had spent her time wandering aimlessly happy act impulsively and act without a plan and she had done it so easily without thought just content to be with him.

Her smile widened as she remembered certain details of the day, Sasuke came wearing a thick black coat which made a change from the time she had seen him walking around with short sleeves in winter. When she had commented on this he claimed it was easier to wear a coat as Naruto had been hanging around near his office which had made her laugh. His checks were flushed from the cold winds and the frosted pink colour made a sharp contrast to his pale skin.

She could recall the feel of his larger hand around hers as he had dragged her off to another location, considering the fact that he worked in an office Sakura had expected his hands to be softer than they were, suggesting that he did some manual work. It was a strange but not unpleasant sensation; feeling his calloused hand in hers as he led her down the street into the unknown.

She had managed to convince him to stop off at the park, it was quiet as none of the children were let out of school and she had gone on the swings, she had told him how much she had enjoyed swings when she was younger and he had told her that he usually avoided them all together. She had teased him about this and Sasuke had said that he had avoided other children because they had been annoying or obnoxious.

"How come you're such good friends with Naruto then?" She had asked, "Not that he's annoying." She added hastily "Just that well if you avoided people how did you meet?"

"Naruto is annoying. You can say it I don't mind." Sasuke said as he stood watching the clouds move slowly across the sky.

"You didn't answer my question then." Sakura commented and Sasuke continued frowning and he pushed Sakura on the swing every time she came back towards him, her pink hair flew backwards and forwards across her face as she moved and she looked over her shoulder top watch him.

"Naruto used to avoid people too when he was younger." Sasuke finally said quietly. Sakura could remember feeling shocked at this revelation.

"But he's so sociable." She said without thinking realising after she had spoken that it was probably a stupid thing to say Sasuke gave her a wry smile.

"Meaning I'm not?" He asked and Sakura flushed.

"Um..." He smiled slightly at her discomfort and continued pushing her on the swing, his warm hand leaving a tingling sensation on her back through her coat.

"Naruto used to be bullied a lot because he was an orphan." There was a scraping noise as Sakura stopped herself on the swing, dragging her feet on the floor, she turned round to stare at Sasuke.

"So? Why does that make him a target?" She said indignantly and Sasuke shrugged.

"Kid's latch on the anything that makes people different." He continued in the same soft voice, Sakura nodded reluctantly.

"I guess." She gave him a quick smile "I used to get bullied a lot, well people tried to but Ino always stuck up for me." Sasuke smiled back at her.

"So you and Naruto stuck together then?" Sakura asked, looking up at Sasuke, his hand was still resting on her back. He didn't seem aware he was still doing it but Sakura felt the need to fidget as she could feel him acutely but at the same time she didn't want to draw his attention to it so he moved. Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.

"We ended up at the same schools and even in the same office now. I can't get rid of him." He said and Sakura sighed at this.

"Sasuke you don't mean that." She chided and he ignored her.

"Are you going again?" She gave him a quizzical look and Sasuke motioned to the swing in response, Sakura leant over and patted to one next to her.

"Join me?" He gave her a strange look before walking round to sit the other swing, wrapping her arms around the chains that held it up.

"You know." Sakura continued, "When I was younger I used to think that being on a swing was like flying." Sasuke fixed his dark eyes on her, a questioning look on his face "if you lean back and look at the clouds with the wind around you it's easy to imagine what it would be like." Sakura blushed slightly feeling foolish again "To me anyway." She muttered.

Sasuke gave her a half smile and looked up at the sky, a flock of birds flew overhead, spiralling and turning in the sky, their wings giving them freedom to come and go as they pleased. Sakura began rocking backwards and forwards on her swung, keeping her feet on the ground.

"I always wanted to be able to fly when I was younger." She glanced at her silent companion. "What about you? What were your dreams when you were little?"

"I always wanted my father to recognise me for myself." Sasuke said quietly. "And not compare me to my brother." There was something in his tone of voice that made Sakura reluctant to question him further and they both fell silent. Sakura continued on the swing and the frame creaked slightly with each movement.

"Hey." Sakura started when Sasuke finally spoke, he gave her a devilish grin."I bet I can go higher than you on this." He said and Sakura looked him up and down as he sat on the swing she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah?" She asked and Sasuke imitated her expression. "I bet you can't."

Sasuke didn't reply, instead he pushed himself backwards on the swing and then let himself fall forwards starting the motion of the swing, his dark hair was ruffled slightly in the breeze, Sakura hastily did the same.

"No fair, you started before me." She complained as she swung higher.

They had come to a draw in the end and left the park before any school children approached, laughing amongst themselves, hand in hand, and their cheeks were flushed from the wind and from trying to outdo each other on the swings.

Soon after Sasuke had to leave to get back to work. Sakura had watched his dark figure walk away from her, stopping briefly to cross the street, walking out of her life for the moment but leaving her with a promise to meet up next week.

The feeling of his hand in hers. The soft sound of his laughter as it combined with her own. They way his smile transformed his usually serious face and his dark eyes glittering with amusement at her actions.

Sakura couldn't stop smiling, she knew it was foolish but she really couldn't help it. She lay flopped on her bed, arms and legs spread out as if reaching for the edges and she smiled up at her bedroom ceiling. She couldn't wait for next week to come.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura knocked on the door to Tenten's flat, making the bracelets on her wrist jangle. They had finally found a date where the four of them, Ino, Tenten, Hinata and Sakura could get together to catch up. Ino at first wanted to hold it at her place but abruptly changed her mind, wanting them to wait until the great unveiling next week, namely Ino's housewarming party. Luckily Tenten said that she could easily kick Neji out of her flat if he was visiting so Sakura stood shivering in the corridor waiting to be let in.

"Sakura, come in, sorry about the heaters I think the landlords decided he's save on electricity and money if he lets us freeze to death." Tenten said greeting her with a smile as she let her in.

"How did you get rid of Neji then?" Sakura asked pulling her boots off and setting them on the mat with the others that were scattered about, they seemed to be mainly Tenten's.

"I told him we were having a girly night in. That was enough to make him want to leave and suggested he meet up with his friends as well before we end up with no free time planning our wedding." Sakura smiled slightly.

"Have you set a date yet?" She asked now that Tenten had piqued her curiosity.

"Nope, but I told him I'd marry him when it's warm." She gave a slight laugh "want some coffee?"

"Sure, is no one else here yet?" Tenten shook her head, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and it shock slightly with the movement. Sakura followed her into the tidy kitchen, and while she had thought she liked to keep her kitchen tidy; Neji seemed to make sure that their kitchen was completely sterile, coupled with the white décor it reminded Sakura when she had started off doing some work experience and placements in a hospital.

There was a knock on the door, after glancing at Tenten, who was busy, Sakura headed to the front door only to find Ino and Hinata behind it.

"Come on Sakura let us in its freezing." Ino said pushing her friend out the way to get into the slightly warmer flat. "Ah that's better; who ever created radiators was a genius."

"Coffee?" Tenten called down the hall as she heard them enter.

"Yes please." Ino shouted back, over Hinata's answer.

"That was a yes from Hinata too." Sakura added as they headed towards the living room, Tenten joined them soon after handing out the mugs of coffee, they all muttered a quick thanks and then fell silent as they all drank.

"Wow, it's been a while since we've all gotten together hasn't i.t" Ino said finally breaking the silence. They all nodded.

"It's funny" Tenten said slowly. "I've always seemed really busy recently but looking back at it I haven't seem to have done much, nothing worth telling you all anyway, just telling everyone about my wedding."

"You don't seem to have going out long." Sakura said, "I mean, you've been together a few years but-" She paused as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

"It's gone really quickly hasn't it?" Ino said.

"I remember when you and cousin Neji met." Hinata chipped in with a smile.

"Oh god." muttered Tenten, Ino and Sakura grinned.

"Oh yeah, it was at that work party wasn't it?" Sakura said and Hinata nodded,

"And Tenten being head of department had to turn up." Hinata said continuing the story.

"No! We are not talking about this again." Tenten said blushing furiously.

"It was one of those big, fancy parties wasn't it?" Ino asked and Hinata nodded.

"Champagne and those little appetisers being carried around on trays, an amazing occasion my family business making a partnership with Tenten's work."

"Of course this kind of thing could make anyone nervous…" Sakura said.

"And drink too much…" Ino added

"And shout at the new partner's nephew." Sakura finished and the other three grinned at Tenten's embarrassment.

"Stop it!" Tenten shouted now resembling a tomato; she held a cushion over her face. "Aah! Why is my life so lacking in romance, why couldn't our eyes met across the crowded room, and he would spend most of the night trying to figure out a way to talk to me and right at the end of the night we dance and exchange numbers and so on. Instead I got into a shouting match with him as he was being a pompous arse." She wailed although her voice was slightly muffled by the cushion which made Sakura giggle.

"You do know that story's going to be told at your wedding don't you." Ino said nonchalantly and Tenten groaned.

"What did he do to you anyway?" Sakura asked curious as it some something Tenten had never really cared to share with them.

"It was his tone of voice really." Tenten muttered emerging from the cushion.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I don't think I made good impression on Shikamaru first time either." Ino said ruefully.

"Really? I always thought that you two met romantically in the rain, he gave you his umbrella to take home, and they say the age of chivalry is dead." Tenten said wistfully "This is the kind of thing I'd never have with Neji, as much as I love him I sometimes think he buys me flowers on Valentine's day out of a strange misplaced sense of duty." Ino snorted.

"Shikamaru only leant me his umbrella 'cause I kicked up such a fuss outside my work, I refused to leave so I didn't get wet, so he was passing by, saw the commotion I was causing and practically thrust the umbrella at me saying I was 'being troublesome'."

"Typical Shikamaru." Sakura said, and Ino smiled as she reminisced.

"I held onto that umbrella for ages in case I saw him again and weeks later it was raining again and I saw him going past my office and we walked home together, well he took me home to reclaim his umbrella, and well." She blushed "It would have been rude to not invite him in for a drink afterwards. " Ino looked down into her own empty coffee mug as she recalled linking arms with him under their small shelter to get closer out of the rain and the rhythmic drumming of the rain on the umbrella.

"'A drink' being a good euphemism for sex now a days, as I understand it." Tenten said in a loud whisper to Hinata who almost choked on her mouthful of coffee. Ino glared at her.

Sakura smiled slightly, surprisingly enough Ino and Shikamaru had made a good couple, they fought and Ino always complained that her never did anything and would rather sit indoors than go out and do anything fun, but they usually found a compromise usually with Shikamaru indulging in Ino's everlasting quest to find something exciting to do or sometimes she would be content to lean on him in the park as they ate lunch together looking at the clouds.

"Have you started planning your wedding yet Tenten?" Hinata asked softly, and Tenten's eyes lit up at the question.

"I've been looking at dresses, some of them are amazing." Her expression turned sour "Although apparently I'd be better off in trousers according to Neji as he says he's never seen me out of them."

"No!" Ino looked scandalised. "You have to wear a dress Tenten, you'll look amazing and of course you're going to make us all bridesmaids." Tenten laughed.

"Hang on Ino, we haven't even sorted out where were holding the wedding on a day, I think that comes first."

"Oh, I don't know." Sakura said "She's already claimed my children as her god children." Tenten laughed.

"You've got to find someone first haven't you, unless" a mischievous smile spread across her face "you really are with one of those two from the coffee shop." Suddenly Ino looked excited at Tenten's words

"Is it Sasuke, am I right in saying that he's on some sort of secret mission is there a drugs bust? A prostitution ring? Is there some kind of gang involved?"

"Ino you watch far too many films in your spare time." Sakura said but Tenten looked interested.

"Who's Sasuke?" She asked and Hinata looked from her, to Ino, to a mortified looking Sakura.

"The dark haired one." Sakura said.

"So is it him or the blond." She gasped suddenly "Or both, when did you become like that Sakura!"

"Tenten, no." Sakura squeaked, she could feel her face heating up.

"Oh, which one was it?" Sakura was acutely aware that their full attention was on her and she squirmed slightly in her seat.

"We're not going out or anything." She protested but that sounded weak even to her own ears.

"Who is it Sakura?" Hinata asked with a strange edge to her voice.

"We've only really talked and wandered around the city."

"Sakura…" Ino said in a warning tone, meaning that things are going to get violent if you don't say soon.

"The dark haired one, Sasuke." Sakura buttered and Tenten smiled slightly. Hinata looked a little relieved. "But like I said we're not going out so it's nothing really."

"Nothing?" Ino asked "You've been meeting people without even telling me anything, and it's not just anything but the mystery man from the cafe, that's hardly nothing is it? Now come on who is he really?"

"He's just – Sasuke." Sakura muttered getting flustered. "He just works in an office."

"Or so he tells you, if he was a undercover cop then he couldn't exactly tell you could he." Ino said thoughtfully and Sakura sighed.

"That's what Naruto told me." She said firmly and Ino looked put out.

"And that's the other one is it?" Sakura nodded. "That's a shame I'll have to find someone else to speculate about, although if you're seeing Sasuke you can still tell me all the details of his life." She paused. "Are you sure it's a real office and not a front for an international criminal organisation?" She asked and Sakura gaped at her.

"What? No. That's-" She stuttered. "Why would you think that?"

"I just want to know about your new boyfriend that's all." Ino said feigning innocence.

"Or trying to get cheap thrills out of your life now she's deep in her first serious relationship." Tenten added.

"We're not dating." Sakura said again, afraid that Ino hadn't quite got the message yet. Ino nodded slightly looking distracted by her own thoughts.

"So what do you two get up to?" Hinata asked.

"It depends, we just walk around and see where we end up really." Ino stared at her friend in disbelief.

"That's it?" Sakura nodded "You agreed to go out with him without knowing what you were going to do? I'm surprised you didn't make him sit down and write out an itinerary." Sakura flushed again.

"I'm not that bad. And I wish people would stop saying that." She protested as the others tried not to remember the timed schedule she had made for the day trips they had taken together "Anyway it's nice, I like doing nothing with Sasuke, it's fun."

"Well as long as you enjoy yourself Sakura." Hinata said.

As the night continued Sakura continued to be mercilessly embarrassed until she managed to tease Ino about her previous choices of dates. Such as when she met up with someone when she was 15 and found out later that he was in his late twenties and had tried to take her into a hotel. A tale which had warned Sakura off any spontaneity for a long time.

Neji had returned after a while and had looked slightly shocked and scared that they were still in full flow of conversation after many hours. Soon after that they left to leave Neji to his peace, and Sakura was still smiling when she had gotten home and ready for bed, it was amazing what they had talked about. All those memories from school, half of them she had almost forgotten. Her head hit the soft pillow as she settled down and got herself comfortable for the night, a brief smile crossed her face again before she drifted off, as her last thought was that she'd be seeing Sasuke soon.


	9. Chapter 9

It was funny how some days seemed to fly by and some dragged on, seemingly to last for weeks on end especially if you were looking forward to something. Eventually Sakura's long awaited day off came and she had completed her morning routine and all her housework early. Sakura smiled to herself. Today seemed like it would be a good day, she was looking forward to seeing Sasuke again anyway.

She stretched her back out and pulled her boots and coat on, the weather was getting milder so at least she didn't look like an Eskimo with all her layers on. Sakura ran her fingers through her short hair, checking her appearance in the mirror. She frowned and decided to pull her hair up into a ponytail so it didn't get ruined by the wind and then, after picking up her bag, she left. It was still cold outside, and it was the time of year when most people stayed indoors with the heating on, the time of year when soups and casseroles were ever so appealing. However today there wasn't the bitterness in the wind that used to be there, it was a sure sign that spring was on its way and Sakura was looking forward to the arrival of the warmer weather.

She found had plenty of time before she usually went to the coffee shop, before she could meet up with Sasuke, as she had hurried through her list of things to do feeling eager to see him again. And for now Sakura walked through town enjoying the rush and watching people hurry, heads bent, about their business, darting in and out of shops. Blasts of music were heard as shop doors opened and closed, letting out waves of warm air as she past.

Strange really, Sakura found herself thinking of Sasuke a lot these days, but she had come to realise that despite all the time they spent in each other's company they really knew very little about each other. They never talked about things that were to personal. They never talked about their lives, jobs, where they lived and so on, but still Sakura was able to feel comfortable with him, and she always looked forward to seeing him again.

Temari had accused her of being obsessed.

Tsunade had said a little obsession never hurt anybody. Well, unless it ended in a restraining order something Sakura hadn't found as encouraging as Tsunade had hoped.

Sakura sighed, after years of being berated for leading an ordinary life and not taking any risks, suddenly everyone seemed to be trying to warn her off meeting someone she barely knew anything about. Even Ino who was a born risk taker and had been known to meet strangers in town and spend the whole day with them had warned her that she knew so very little about him and what did she mean she didn't even know what his surname was?

The best reaction was from Hinata who had congratulated her, and made a joke about now leaving her as the only one being single and reminded Ino and Tenten before they started their rants about the dangers of meeting strangers even if they were tall, dark and handsome, that as Neji knew him, Sasuke had to be alright, which was something that made Sakura extremely grateful to have someone on her side.

At least that had stopped Tenten. Ino had gone to being thrilled for Sakura for meeting someone to completely suspicious and still slightly convinced that Sasuke was investigating something dodgy like a smuggling ring and once it was solved would disappear from her life forever. She could always count on her best friend to be ever so supportive and Ino had been watching too many crime dramas recently for Sakura's liking.

Sakura scowled slightly, she was flattered that they were concerned about her but she didn't need it, she was all grown up and maybe now she was willing to make some risks in her life.

Besides, despite all her friends' arguments, if those risks let her to Sasuke then she didn't mind taking them.

"Hey." Sakura turned to see Sasuke leaning against the wall next to next, his dark coat was undone and she could see the white shirt and black trousers the he was wearing, she'd never seen him in anything other than jeans before. It was strange to see him that way but it also made her so very aware of what an attractive face he had, and body, and she really needed to stop staring at him now.

"You look all dressed up." Sakura said "I've never seen you look so smart."

"Yeah." He said straitening up "We had a very big meeting this morning, with people from outside the company coming in."

"Sounds like it was very important." Sakura said. Although she had no idea about any of these things working in a small doctor's surgery.

"It was." He said shortly and Sakura knew that it was time to let this subject drop. They walked in silence for a while, Sasuke was walking a bit ahead of Sakura so every so often she had to take a few extra steps to keep up with him.

"I've been warned off meeting you, you know." She informed him.

"Oh?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"The dangers of meeting a strange man." She said to elaborate. Sasuke gave a slight smile.

"At least it's daylight and in a public place." He said and Sakura found herself smiling as well.

"So you better make sure I'm home and fine before dark." Sasuke gave a slight chuckle.

"And if I was really going to try and kidnap you do you think that you deter me?"

"Oh I don't know, if you kidnapped me then my friends would not stop until I've been found, and they can be very scary when their angry." Sasuke stopped walking and turned to face her, he gave her a cocky smile.

"And what if when they find you, you don't want to come back?"

"That would depend on where you take me I suppose, if it was somewhere hot with beaches then I think I'd be quite happy to stay." Sakura blew out a cloud of air, condensed and looked like smoke, or dragon's breath and it hovered between the two for a moment. "Somewhere in the Caribbean might be nice right now."

"I've always thought there was something beautiful about winter." Sasuke commented. Sakura gave him a quizzical look and he shrugged.

"It's just, the ways everything's so frozen and-"

"Grey." Sakura said sceptically. Sasuke pulled a face.

"No, look around Sakura, it's not like everything's dead at this time of the year."

"I don't know what you're talking about, all I know is that winter is cold and wet." Sakura said mournfully thinking of the warmer summer months ahead Sasuke sighed and turned round so his back was to her, he was looking up at the sky, Sakura gave him a thoughtful look

"Okay then," Sakura threaded her arm through his "Show me how beautiful winter is Sasuke."

"Come on then, let's go to the park." As usual Sakura was dragged through a labyrinth of streets by Sasuke, she giggled softly at the determined expression on his face as he pulled her toward the park.

It was early still and no one else was really around, being at work or at school, there were only a few people struggling through the park trying to keep warm. And as they stood in the field the sun was just starting to make its way out from behind the wall of clouds that trapped it. Sakura shivered as she took in the leafless trees, the dull sky and the damp grass.

"There is no way you can convince me that this is beautiful Sasuke." She stated looking around her.

"Well what is it you see here?" He asked her.

"Mud, dog walkers that would rather be inside, trees with nothing on them, it's all dull and grey." She muttered "See, spring is so much better as everything's in bloom, blossoms, plants, fresh new growth." She insisted.

"Lambs, and whatever else clichéd things they put on Easter cards these days." Sasuke said and Sakura laughed delighted.

"Yes!" She said and Sasuke came up close to Sakura, they were standing a foot apart, the wind blew softly around them as they looked at each other.

"Now think about this." Sasuke said softly. "Close your eyes."

"Is this the part where you kidnap me?" Sakura asked as she did so, she heard Sasuke's laugh again.

"I'm afraid not." Sakura pouted. There was a rustle of clothing as Sasuke shifted slightly, and then he spoke again; his voice seemed much closer this time.

"Think about it." he whispered "Everything's dormant, waiting to grow, waiting to be released. The trees and plants stay strong during too cold. The air is crisp and clear." Sakura felt herself breathing in sampling the cold air "in the morning dew settles on the grass and spiders webs, or when it's even colder there's a layer of frost on the leaves."

"It's still cold and dark in winter Sasuke." Sakura protested.

"So? I bet at least once you've looked up at the nights sky and appreciated it." Sakura shook her head slightly.

"It always seems so distant and remote the stars." She opened her eyes "So cold."

"Eternal." Sasuke paused slightly. "Did you ever hear that story, of the Snow Woman?" Sasuke asked and Sakura shook her head "There's a story that in blizzards and snow storms a beautiful woman would appear in it who kills people trapped in the snow, either from over exposure of she freezes them herself." Sakura frowned slightly wondering where he was going with this. "The story goes that some wood cutters were out in the woods and they got caught in a storm. They found shelter for the night in a hut or something. That night the door blew open in the snow and the Snow Women entered the younger of the two wood cutters woke up to find her freezing the other one and was terrified. When the Snow Woman moved over to the younger one she felt compelled to save him and let him live on the condition that her never told anyone about what had happened."

Sasuke walked forward so he was facing into the sun now looking out with Sakura across the park. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"The years past and the wood cutter ended up married to a beautiful woman with children and a snow storm came in. His wife noticed that he wasn't himself that night and pressed him to tell him what was on his mind. When he finally told her his story of the Snow Woman, his wife revealed herself to be the Snow Woman and said that if it wasn't for their children she would kill him. She then turned into snow and vanished." Sasuke turned his face to look at Sakura "That is winter to me."

Sakura stared at him, a stray breeze ruffled his hair that looked almost blue in the dull light, there was a hint of pink across his checks and his eyes shone as he smiled at her. In her moment of hyper awareness Sakura took a moment to look around the park, the trees with the energy coiled up inside them waiting for spring when it would burst forth and give life, the frosted air as people breathed, the flutter of wings as birds took off from the bare branches of the trees. In that moment Sakura was ready to believe that winter was truly beautiful.

She smiled at Sasuke.

"You know you really do have a twisted mind, how can a story about a woman freezing people to death make you see beauty in the world." She walked slowly towards him until that were only a few steps apart.

"But," She continued, "I think I can almost see what you mean." Sasuke took another step towards her, they were only to moments apart now.

"Can you?" He asked, and Sakura nodded and stepped towards him. One step apart.

"Good." Sasuke muttered, and they both moved closer to each other, Sasuke rested his forehead against hers, their breath was mingling together. Sakura closed her eyes.

"I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn't." Sasuke continued softly, as he reached up and brushed a few stray strands of hair off Sakura's face.

Suddenly there was a ringing noise and Sasuke jerked backwards, and dug in his pocket for his phone. There was a muttered 'fuck' when he was who it was.

"What is it?" He said and Sakura watched at a look of annoyance crossed his face. "Right, fine, yes I'll come back." He sounded exasperated.

"Arse." He muttered as he rang off. He turned to Sakura and gave a slight smile.

"Is everything okay?" Sakura asked cautiously, Sasuke sighed.

"I have to get back to work." he said quietly, "there's been some sort of crisis, so I'm afraid I'll have to kidnap you at a later date."

"As long as you take me somewhere warm." Sakura joked, she looked at Sasuke's dejected expression. "Don't worry about it Sasuke. I understand it's not your fault you have to go back to work, you have stuff to do unlike me who gets to do nothing all day." Sakura gave him a kind smile "I'll see you next Wednesday though?"

Sasuke nodded and with a quiet goodbye, he turned and left, a figure slowly diminishing as he got further away. Sakura sighed, what to do for the rest of the day she had wanted to stay with Sasuke for at least a little while longer especially after that moment, so full of promise, before his phone had rang. She took a deep breath in, people kept walking past her with their heads bent down low, hurrying along through the park, eager to get home. She tilted her head back appreciating the potential this place had, that in a few weeks this place would be flourishing with life.

Sakura smiled.

Maybe Sasuke was right.

Maybe now winter would be beautiful to her too.


	10. Chapter 10

The weather was definitely getting milder, Sakura thought as she walked towards her car. Tonight she was finally going to see Ino and Shikamaru's new house; it was the grand unveiling, so to speak, after all the secrecy as Ino wouldn't tell her friends anything about her new home, just telling them to wait and see. She had only given them the address a few days before.

Although it was raining slightly, Sakura didn't feel the need to wear about six layers just to stay warm. And tonight, just to be daring she was wearing a skirt for the first time in ages.

Sakura hurried the last few steps to her car, eager to get in it and put the heating on to ward of the sudden cold snap as the winter weather tried to hold on. Although looking at the way her luck was going recently it would only be warm in the car once she'd arrived at Ino's.

Sakura frowned, hoping that soon, maybe some good luck would come her way, the last few days of work had been terrible, she seemed to have misplaced everything, and ended up embarrassing herself in front of one of her patients when she had the wrong file and told them that their pregnancy test had come back positive when they had come in complaining of a chest infection. She had finished that day completely mortified only to be teased mercilessly by both Temari and Tsunade who had, as usual, found her predicament very amusing.

She was already late for Ino's party; she should have been there five minutes ago but every pair of tights she owned seemed to have mysteriously gained hole in them. Sakura sighed in frustration, as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel she glared at the red traffic light in front of her; the third she had encountered on her drive, hoping to change it by sheer will power.

After twenty minutes of furious driving Sakura found herself outside of Ino's new house, it was a small place but the garden looked like it was well kept by the previous owners and she wondered briefly if Ino or Shikamaru would continue to do the same, or if it would be too 'troublesome' for either of them to do so. Unless Ino bullied Shikamaru in to doing it to avoid having to tend to it herself, although Ino was surprisingly green fingered she had never attempted anything more ambitious than a potted plant so an entire garden was probably very daunting.

Sakura took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the verbal onslaught she was likely to receive by Ino for arriving so late after the weeks of asking Ino about her house.

"Sakura, where have you been?" Luckily it was Hinata who opened the door and greeted her "Ino been torn between fury at your disappearance and worry that something bad had happened." Sakura gave Hinata a reassuring smile.

"No. I started off late and the traffic was bad." The worry in Hinata's eyes vanished and she gave Sakura a warm smile.

"Ino will be glad. As far as she's concerned their house is overrun with Shikamaru's friends"

"Since when did Shikamaru turn into Mr Popularity?" Sakura asked knowing that he generally preferred to keep to himself, Hinata gave a slight laugh.

"I was under the impression that he invited everyone he knew so he wouldn't be overrun with Ino's friends. It seems to have worked." She explained and Sakura giggled.

"As Ino's friends are 'troublesome'." She said imitating Shikamaru, Sakura then dodged passed the masses of people in the crowded hallway and went to find her friend. She wondered if she could insist that she had been there all along but then decided that she probably wouldn't get away with it.

"Ino!" Sakura called once she saw her friend's blond hair.

"Sakura, where have you been?" Ino cried, lunging towards her and giving her a hug

"Sorry. I got stuck at practically every traffic light." Sakura tried to pull Ino's arm off her neck, so she could breathe again. "Can you give me a tour?" Ino nodded.

"Come on lets go through to the kitchen." After a brief tour of the house Sakura found Shikamaru amongst a group of friends. He gave her a slight smile and the group turned to look at her, out of all of them she only recognised a few of Shikamaru's friends including Chouji , a man of average height, who's interest in food had led him to pursue a career in cookery. However Chouji still insisted that the best part of cooking was getting to nibble on the ingredients along the way, and, like most people, he still enjoyed eating raw cake mix left over in the bowel. Sakura gave Chouji a polite smile, he was as close to Shikamaru as she was to Ino and although she barely knew him herself. Ino had always said he was good company except if he was invited over to a dinner party, where Ino had all her cooking criticised especially her lack of presentation.

"Hey." Sakura said nervously from all the attention she was receiving "Ino's just given me the grand tour, you two have found a great place. Did you have any part in deciding this place or did Ino force you into buying it?" Shikamaru looked embarrassed and Neji, who was standing next to him, smirked slightly.

"It's pointless to even try to argue with that woman." Shikamaru insisted, and Sakura laughed.

"I agree with you, and even if you do try and argue with her she always wins anyway." She sighed. Shikamaru gave a slight smile. "I'm sure Neji would have found the same thing with Tenten." Sakura continued.

"Not really." Neji muttered, looking uncomfortable now all the attention was focused on him "Tenten's always been very reasonable, especially compared to Ino."

"You wait until you start planning your wedding properly." Sakura said, amusement was evident in her voice "If anything Tenten is a perfectionist, you better be careful as everything will have to match perfectly, the clothes, the meal, flowers and so on, will all have some kind of theme or colour scheme running through them." Neji's already pale skin seemed to lose a bit more of its colour at the thought of his fiancée's obsession with all things matching, it was bad enough when he had helped her decorate her flat and the colour of the paint hadn't come out right. He had been forced to paint over the wall with different shades of green until she had found the right colour and she had insisted that the tester paint pots were different from the larger tins.

Sakura gave Neji an overly bright smile.

"I'm sure you'll have a great time" she said cheerily, as she turned to go, leaving behind her a stunned Neji, a still embarrassed Shikamaru and an amused Chouji.

"Hey, Sakura!" Sakura glanced in the direction of the voice and wandered over to join the speaker. Kiba gave her a broad smile, his dark eyes were warm and in the yellowing lighting of the room his hair took on a reddish tinge. "Haven't seen you around for a while." He said as she came over.

"No, well you know how it is with work and everything." Sakura muttered, wondering how time had passed so quickly when she had seemed so very busy doing nothing. "How have you been Kiba?" Sakura asked. The man smiled again and began to enthuse about his job which he was obviously enjoying. Kiba worked with animals and had recently moved jobs, considering how much he had disliked talking about his work before; Sakura assumed that this new place was a thousand times better.

"And you Shino, how are you then?" Sakura addressed Kiba's companion when Kiba paused for a moment. Kiba's dark haired companion turned to look at her.

"Good." Sakura gave and uneasy smile, she felt that this monotone syllable was all she was going to get from Shino.

"Sakura." It was Hinata again. "Isn't that your Sasuke?"

"He isn't mine." Sakura said automatically and then what Hinata had said sunk in properly, "Where?"

Hinata nodded towards a small group and Sakura saw Sasuke's dark hair and she recognised the blond next to him. Naruto was chatting animatedly amongst their group while Sasuke looked more withdrawn and quiet. Unlike Naruto whose arms were spread out as he was gesticulating while he was recounting a story, Sasuke's body language seemed colder, more defensive even. A faint smile made its way across Sakura's face when she saw then, she realised how uncomfortable Sasuke felt conversing with the almost-strangers at Ino and Shikamaru's housewarming party and felt privileged that his shy nature had let her into his life.

As Sakura and Hinata watched to group talk, Naruto seemed to notice the eyes on his back, he stopped talking and turned, his own blue eyes lit up as he saw Sakura and Hinata looking in his direction and he waved them over. Hinata's checks flushed as she and Sakura walked over to the groups thanks to Naruto everyone's attention seemed to be on the quiet girl and her companion. Hinata noticed that even Sakura looked slightly uneasy from all the attention but she held her head high and walked over to Naruto with a smile. Hinata followed her friend standing slightly behind her.

"Sakura!" Naruto greeted them with a smile, of course "And Hinata wasn't it?" The dark haired girl nodded, her eyes were wide and she looked slightly scared as Naruto grinned into her face until Sasuke forcibly grabbed the back of Naruto's head and dragged him backwards.

"Ouch," Naruto said loudly, "What was that for?"

"Give her room to breathe Naruto." Sasuke said dryly as Naruto turned back to stare at Hinata. They feel silent.

"I didn't know you knew Shikamaru." Sakura said to Naruto to try and divert his attention from Hinata, who he seemed to be stuck smiling at, Sasuke rolled his eyes at his obvious interest in the shy girl.

"We went to school together." Naruto said in way of an explanation.

"Huh, is that so? Small world then." Sakura said. Naruto gave them another smile and Hinata looked thoughtful.

"Its sure is!" Naruto's grin widened "And with luck there will be more happy coincidences and we'll run into each other again Sakura!" Sakura smiled at him optimism, but she was still glad when Naruto's attention switched to Sasuke who was conversing with Hinata.

"It's fine." She was saying "I'll be able to get a lift home with Neji probably."

"What?" Naruto burst noisily into their peaceful conversation, "You can't get a lift home with Neji he's so grumpy." Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"And why not Naruto, I'm sure Neji wouldn't object to taking his cousin home."

"You're his cousin?" Naruto exclaimed looking shocked and Sakura heard Sasuke sigh.

"It's fine." Hinata said again, "Really." She insisted as Naruto's bright eye's pierced hers.

"It can't be helped." Naruto declared "I'll give you a lift home."

"Eh?" Sakura looked at her companions; at least Hinata looked as bemused as she felt trying to follow the path of Naruto's insane logic. Sasuke, however, just looked amused.

"If you wanted some time alone with her I'm sure you could have asked nicely instead of insulting her cousin." He said archly and Naruto's face turned pink, he turned round, folding his arms crossly.

"That has nothing to do with it." He muttered and Sakura suppressed a smile, he sounded like a child.

"Well I'm sure having a lift from you Naruto will be better for my nerves than being with Neji and Tenten." Hinata said trying to make Naruto feel better "They argue about anything and that tends to make Neji drive recklessly, he was too busy arguing one time and skipped a few red lights."

Sakura stared at her.

"Really? Neji was shouting, usually he can brush off any insults." She said and Hinata shrugged.

"I think Tenten knows just how to get under his skin. They've known each other for so long after all." She said, Sakura nodded slightly.

"Then it's settled." Naruto gave them a bright smile and slung his arm around Hinata's shoulders "You're coming home with me!"

"I see." Another voice joined then "Naruto you've finally found a girlfriend then." Hinata was already blushing due to Naruto's arm and now she was steadily getting even more red.

Naruto stared blankly at the speaker and Sasuke rolled his eyes in disgust and walked away, Sakura turned and was, as usual, shocked to see Neji and Tenten's long time friend behind her.

"Lee?" She said in surprise taking in his all green outfit.

"In that case I cannot lose out." An insane fire lit up Lee's eyes and Sakura had the feeling that wherever this was going it wasn't going to be anywhere good. "Sakura, I heard from Tenten that you're single, so now I may have a chance." He grasped Sakura's hands in his, and Sakura got the same uneasy feeling she did when Naruto had done the same weeks ago, that this wasn't good. "I have always admired you." He continued "Please will out go out with me?" This declaration was loud enough so that the whole room turned and had their attention focused on Sakura and Lee.

"Ah, well." Sakura stared to say wondering desperately how to get out of this one. "I'm already seeing someone Lee." She looked around the room to find someone who wouldn't mind pretending to be her boyfriend for a bit. "Ah, that person over there." She indicated the direction with her head, as Lee was still passionately holding onto her hands. "Kiba." She said finally and Lee slumped looking dejected.

Sakura left the group as Hinata tries unsuccessfully to comfort Lee while Naruto still had his arm round her.

"I hope you don't mind if I don't take my pretend girlfriend home." A voice said behind her, and she turned.

"Kiba," Sakura looked sheepish "You heard that?"

"I think most people did, don't worry about it." Kiba shrugged "But I'm heading home now and I hope you don't expect a goodbye kiss." Sakura blushed ad looked at her feet.

"Goodbye Kiba." She said softly and he gave her a smile before going to find Ino and Shikamaru to say he was leaving. Noticing that people were still watching her Sakura slipped out into the garden that she hadn't been able to see on her tour with Ino as her friend thought it was just a garden, they're all the same really aren't they, Ino had said.

Sakura walked down the stone path towards the end of the garden, even though it was dark she could still see the beauty of the garden from small lights that had been evenly spaced down the path. At the end of the garden she could see a dark shape and a small smile crossed her face when she recognised the outline.

"You're making it a habit, going out in the cold without a jacket Sasuke." The figure turned and gave her a slight smile. Sakura came up beside him and put her hand on his bare arm, it was freezing. "Jeez, Sasuke anyone would think you want to catch pneumonia." she muttered rubbing her hand up and down his arm trying to get the blood flowing.

Sasuke covered her hand with his stopping the motion. He said nothing and when Sakura looked at his face he was staring at the sky. Sakura tilted her head up and almost gasped. The night was clear and unlike where she lived many stars were clear in the sky, she could even spots parts of the few constellations she knew. Still looking heavenward she shuffled closer to Sasuke hugging his arm closer to him in an attempt to give him some of her warmth.

They stood in silence for a long time looking up at the stars until Sasuke finally spoke.

"You'll get cold if you stay out here too long." He said and Sakura snorted.

"And this is coming from you." He was right though, she was cold especially her legs, she had just been wishing that she'd worn a thicker pair of tights before he had spoken.

"So Sasuke." She said, putting the cold to the back of her mind "Do you know any stories about stars?"

"Stories?" He sounded surprised.

"Well you knew one about winter." Sasuke frowned slightly and Sakura glanced at his face which looked white in the moonlight.

"I can think of one, that my mother used to tell me when I was little." He said eventually.

"Well?" Sakura prompted, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It's a long story I don't know if I can remember it all."

"Tell me what you do remember then" Sasuke sighed and was silent for a while as he gathered his thoughts.

"There was a young, and beautiful of course," He added and Sakura smiled "girl who was a skilled weaver and her father loved the cloth she used to make she worked very hard by the river and eventually became sad that she'd never meet anyone. So her doting father arranged for a cow herder to meet her who worked on the other side of the river and they instantly fell in love".

"As in all fairy stories." Sakura said and Sasuke glanced down at her before looking back up at the sky again.

"Of course." He said dryly before continuing "Then they married and never did any work anymore so she never did any weaving and cows escaped everywhere." Sakura gasped and pretended to look shocked.

"How dare they." She said and a small smile flitted across Sasuke's face.

"And this made her father very angry as he loved the cloth she wove and he was upset." Sasuke said.

"Oh no, what happens now?" Sakura asked tugging Sasuke's arm slightly.

"He separates them." Sasuke said "With each of them on the other side of the river, or in this case in opposite ends of the sky." Sasuke said indicating the stars above them and Sakura turned her head up to look at them again.

"So they can't see each other anymore." She asked and Sasuke nodded.

"Except the father takes pity on his own daughter who is understandably upset by being separated from the person she loves and tells her that he'll let them meet up for one day on the 7th day of the 7th month but only if she finishes her weaving."

"And does she?" Sakura asked wondering if his story had a happy ending.

"She does but remember their on opposite sides of the river and when they are allowed to meet up there isn't a bridge for the weaver to cross, but luckily some magpies hear their distress and form a bridge allowing them to cross and see each other. However this can't happen if it rains so they can't always be together every year."

"At least it sort of ends well." Sakura said gazing up at the stars.

"Although I don't think you could call it that much of a happy ending." Sasuke mused.

"You know the weirdest stories from your childhood." Sakura said and Sasuke glanced at her. "Really?" He said "I was under the impression that they were just standard fairy stories that my mum knew."

"Maybe," Sakura said "I was only ever told the ones like Cinderella and Rapunzel." Sasuke gave her a blank look and Sakura shook her head slightly "never mind" she said smiling slightly as she turned her attention back to the sky "maybe if you're lucky I'll tell you them sometime."

They stayed together for a moment longer enjoying the silence when suddenly a shriek came from the house behind them. They both turned, and Sakura laughed slightly.

"That sounded like Ino, I wonder what happened." After she spoke there was a giant crash and both Sasuke and Sakura flinched slightly.

"I think we should just make our excuses and go now." Sasuke said slowly.

"Yeah, in case it gets any worse." Sakura said hastily not wanting to see Ino's wrath.

They made their way slowly back to the house and got their coats, said their goodbyes to Shikamaru, having decided to avoid Ino who was ranting at some unfortunate person in the kitchen. Outside the house Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Ino's shouts we muffled by the thick wood of the door. She exchanged a smile with Sasuke.

"We both got out alive then." He nodded slightly. "Can you get home alright of do you want a lift?" She asked, reluctant to leave him.

"Its fine Sakura, don't worry about it." She nodded, and turned to leave. "I'll see you in a few days." Sasuke said softly and Sakura turned to face him again. Their eyes met, his as dark as the sky they had been admiring and hers looked an olive green in the night. Sakura gave him a broad smile, one he couldn't help returning with a small one of his own.

"I look forward to it."


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura was tapping her pen against her desk in frustration, today was moving so slowly, right now Tsunade was on a lunch break and Sakura had nothing to do. She briefly wondered if she could sneak off quickly to get a coffee but soon dismissed that thought, it would be just her luck that as soon as she did someone would come in for an emergency appointment. She usually loved her job but today for some reason the felt restless and there was very little going on to distract her.

She sighed and started chewing the end of her pen trying to figure out when she would be able to go for her lunch break when a knock at the door made her jump, breaking her out of her daydream. Go away, she thought, resenting whoever had disturbed her peace, if that's Temari with a patient then I'll…

"Sakura, you've got a visitor." Temari said, jerking Sakura out of her violent thoughts.

"Naruto." she said with surprise when Temari stepped aside to let him in, he was the last person she'd expected to walk into her office and at least he was a welcome distraction. He looked uncharacteristically nervous, biting his bottom lip slightly.

"I hope this is alright, I asked the person on the desk and she said you didn't have any appointments." He said hesitantly and Sakura gave him a warm smile.

"It's fine Naruto." Sakura assured him, "I was just a little surprised." Naruto visibly looked less worried and Sakura gave him a slight smile. "How was the ride home with Hinata?" She asked.

"Good," He said quietly, colouring slightly. Sakura's smile widened and she made a note to get the whole story from Hinata later if anything it sounded like it went very well for the both of them.

"Sakura," Naruto said uncertainly, "I want to talk to you about Sasuke." Sakura looked up at him, he was uncharacteristically serious and she was naturally curious, so she gestured to him to sit down and he rested on the edge of the seat looking worried.

"Sasuke?" She repeated the name, frowning slightly, "What about him?" Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair tugging at the tangles the wind had made in it on his walk over.

"I want you to know what's made him the person he is today." Naruto started, Sakura frowned he was hesitating again; she had a feeling that this conversation wasn't just going to be an ordinary discussion about his friend.

"Go on," Sakura prompted as she couldn't quite understand the meaning behind his words, whatever was plaguing Naruto's mind was obviously important but she had no idea what he had to say that had made Sasuke the quiet, introverted person he was today. Naruto looked down at his feet as he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"I first met Sasuke years ago, I was trying to get away from a group of kids and ran into the back garden of his a house." Naruto gave a slight smile. "When I realised where I was I thought I'd be in even more trouble, especially when I ran into Sasuke's brother, I was lucky really. Sasuke came and insisted that he knew me, which in hindsight was probably just his way of looking out for me as he said I looked rather pathetic that day, but since then we've pretty much stuck together anyway." Naruto grinned, and Sakura sat there stunned.

"That's an interesting way of meeting someone." She managed wondering where exactly this conversation was going.

"Anyway its mainly because of what happened then that his brother seems to dislike me. As I think he thought I'd be caught for trespassing I wouldn't be surprised if he had tried to drag me off to the police of something, but Sasuke and Itachi have always seemed to have a rocky relationship it wasn't so obvious at first and I think Itachi has cared for Sasuke in his own may, maybe he blames me for driving a wedge between them that day I don't know." Naruto frowned again and Sakura looked on with some concern at his troubled expression.

"I want you to know that I only know this as I've known Sasuke for years and most of it I found out myself. Sasuke never tells anyone his problems and tries to do everything himself." Sakura nodded, a slight frown gracing her features. "From what I understand Sasuke and Itachi, his brother, grew up rather competitively, and even that's kind of an understatement. Sasuke has always been over shadowed by Itachi and never got any recognition for what he did from his father. Quite a few times their relationship has gotten quite violent." This time it was Sakura's turn to frown.

"Violent?" She asked and Naruto nodded grimly.

"If you look he's got a scar on the top of his left arm near the shoulder, I remember that happening, at school Sasuke insisted that it was just an accident but-" Naruto shrugged "It turns out that he had had a fight with his brother." Naruto looked at Sakura's horrified expression.

"Its gotten better now, now they seem to maintain a sort of cold war towards each other, but as they have to work together things can get a bit…" Naruto paused as he searched for the right word "tense, I guess."

"Why do they work together, why doesn't Sasuke just leave, I got the impression that he hated his job anyway." Sakura asked trying to understand what had made Sasuke work with someone he obviously disliked Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I think it's mainly due to Itachi that he hates working there, and it's quite complicated really, it's his families company isn't it." He said and Sakura looked at Naruto strangely.

"I don't know." Sakura said "He never talks to me about work much or his family." A guilty look crossed Naruto's face.

"Ah," He said finally after a long and awkward pause, "So he hasn't told you, I thought he would have for some reason."

"Told me what?" Sakura asked.

"He's an Uchiha." Naruto said Sakura stared at him; she opened her mouth to speak but soon shut it again "Uchiha is his family name." Naruto continued as if he thought Sakura couldn't quite get to grip with the concept. And he was right, although the repetition didn't exactly make it any easier.

"An Uchiha?" She managed and noticed that Naruto seemed to be watching her with some amusement as her brain tried to process this information.

Of course she had heard that name before, practically everyone had, they were one of the largest companies around with branches everywhere selling practically every product, their largest competitor was the company Hinata and Neji's own family ran although some smaller, localised companies were attempting to rival them in certain areas.

Sakura could understand why Sasuke would want to keep this information secret she had seen what had happened to Hinata before when she had been recognised as the owner of the Hyuuga Company's daughter, it wasn't very pretty and she had laughed with Ino and Tenten about the impossible situations Neji had gotten into because of his surname especially when trying to book something.

"That explains how he knows Neji," Sakura muttered sitting back in her chair. Naruto gave her a quick smile.

"I don't this Sasuke would really want you to know all this but because of his childhood he has a habit of shutting people out and to be honest I thought it was quite..." Naruto searched for the right words "Out of character, when he sought your friendship. I don't mean to offend you by saying that." He said and looked at Sakura's stony expression

"Not that it's a bad thing, you two obviously get along well and I'm glad for him," he added hastily. "I just want you to be careful, well." Sakura could see that Naruto was starting to have trouble expressing himself again, he bowed his head. "Just because Itachi and Sasuke are cold towards each other doesn't mean Itachi can't hurt him any more whether its intentional or not I don't know but their father seems to always turn a blind eye to things when it's about Itachi as the 'preferred child'. And I'm worried you might get caught in the crossfire or used in some way." Sakura frowned.

"You think he might use me to get to Sasuke," She said slowly and Naruto nodded.

"The fact that he's spent so much time with you must mean he likes your company and Itachi might use this as a way to hurt him."

Sakura frowned slightly, she cast her mind back to one of her outings with Sasuke where they had sat and talked over a sandwich, they had sat in contented silence for a while and she had looked down at his arm, She noticed for the first time that he had a dark purplish bruise on his arm, it stood out against his pale skin. Without even thinking Sakura had reached out and ran her fingers gently over the mark, Sasuke had jerked back as if her touch had burned him, pulling his arm away.

She had lowered her hand to rest it on the table and softly apologised, but she wasn't sure what for.

"It's nothing." He had said, looking away from her at the other customers in the shop and covered the bruise with his other hand.

Sakura gave Naruto a considering look.

"Thank you for telling me." She said softly. She paused. "He won't be physically in danger because of me will he?" Naruto shook his head.

"I think it's moved beyond that and besides-"

"There are other ways to hurt people." Sakura finished for him and Naruto nodded, he offered her a slight smile.

"I haven't scared you off have I?" Sakura laughed slightly.

"No don't worry about it, I like having Sasuke's company nothing will change that." She declared. Naruto's smile widened and for the first time since he had stepped into her office he looked reassured.

"I have to go now, my lunch breaks nearly over," He beamed at her. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Bye Naruto." Sakura said walking with him to the door of her office.

She sat back down on her chair and spun it round slowly while thinking about the information Naruto had given her, she was surprised that Sasuke's parents hadn't noticed the strain between their two sons but, she thought, maybe they were too busy to notice or didn't care.

Hinata's parents were always really busy and hardly had any time for their children, something that Sakura knew Hinata's mother regretted. However Hinata had Neji, who despite his stern exterior really cared about his cousin. And then there was Hanabi, Hinata's sister, who was always showing Hinata up as she seemed to have more of a head for business than her sister but she couldn't imagine there being any bitterness between them. And Hinata could depend upon Ino, Tenten and Sakura herself.

It was hard to imagine what it would be like for Sasuke growing up alone, with only Naruto who stuck by him. A small smile appeared on Sakura's face, they must have made an interesting pair at school, Naruto being ever cheerful and Sasuke silent and withdrawn, she would have liked to see them together when they were younger, just the two of them at first fighting each other's battles. She thought about what Sasuke said about Naruto being bullied and wondered if they managed to stick together for so long by being a pair of misfits and she hoped that they at least had a happier future to look forward too. Sakura sighed she wished that sometime Sasuke would be able to open up to her and tell her himself what Naruto had told her about his past.

But, she reflected, it might be too much to ask for.


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura stood outside the Uchiha office building; she had already finished work and was amazed to see how busy it looked inside even at this late hour she could see people still coming and going, getting in and out of the lifts and scurrying around before they finished work for the day. She tilted her head to one side as she thought; it was strange that inside that giant maze of a building Sasuke and Naruto somehow worked in there although she could only guess at which one of the many floors they were situated in and what it was they got up too. Sakura smiled slightly and probably didn't get lost in there either.

"Oh what's this" A soft voice said behind her "It's not every day we had an attractive young woman such as yourself outside"

"You're too kind" Sakura said turning to face the person. She started, the person had dark hair and his features reminded her of Sasuke's except his eyes which were cold and lacked all the warmth that Sasuke's eyes had. She suppressed a shudder as the stranger's eyes were the dark red colour of blood.

"I'm not that kind, I'm only speaking the truth" The stranger continued. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Itachi" Sakura started and her eyes involuntarily slide to the Uchiha building they were standing next to. He watched the movement with some interest. "Yes, that Itachi" He said confirming her thoughts.

Sakura took a step back as she realised that this person with the cold eyes was the one who had helped create Sasuke's own personal hell. A smile crossed Itachi's face but Sakura noticed that the warmth didn't quite reach his eyes like it did when Sasuke smiled at her. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Do you want to come in?" He asked and Sakura shivered uneasily, but if Itachi noticed he either didn't care or put the action down to the bitter wind.

"What?" Sakura managed.

"In the building, its high security, most people do seem to want to try and get passed security anyway and I'm offering you the chance to try and get in legitimately" He gave her a look "With me"

Sakura's unease grew, but she nodded anyway her desire to see Sasuke after what Naruto had told her outweighed how uncomfortable she felt with his brother and her desire to get away from this man. She knew it was stupid but she felt she had to try, and well Itachi had said that there was a lot of security in the building so if she ended up in a situation she didn't like then surely by screaming she could get a lot of attention.

Itachi watched her as she came to her decision, her green eyes turned thoughtful and he wondered what options she was weighing up, but finally he got the decision that he wanted, he always did, and led her inside the office.

"So, an Uchiha, huh?" Sakura asked, Itachi nodded briefly, just a quick jerk of his head, and Sakura wondered if she could discover anything interesting from him. "Do you know the Hyuuga's then?" She continued, guessing that they must have met on the odd occasion.

"Yes, I believe their daughter is the same age as my brother" he replied shortly. Sakura smiled inwardly, perfect.

"You have a brother?" She feigned surprise, "Is he anything like you?"

"No" Itachi said shortly and Sakura guessed that the one thing Sasuke and Itachi shared was probably a mutual feeling of dislike for the other person. There was a long pause before Itachi elaborated "I'm not surprise you don't know I had a brother, he isn't talked about much, he has very little family loyalty" Another pause, but longer this time and Sakura guessed that she wouldn't get anything more from this conversation and started searching for a way to get out of Itachi's company.

"It's very busy here even though it's so late" She said finally hoping he'd start talking about something and then direct her off to see whatever it was with another person.

"We're a very dedicated company" He said and Sakura sighed inwardly no such luck, he was very good at ending conversations, and if he wasn't interested in talking to her then why the hell did he invite her in? Sakura scowled, suddenly she was regretting her decision to go with Itachi, as much as she wanted to see Sasuke whether to confirm Naruto's story of just to see his face and ascertain that he was alright she didn't know.

"In here" Itachi led her into his office and sat behind his desk, it the shadows of the room he looked very imposing and Sakura suddenly felt nervous. "We can talk in here I'd rather not say much in front of other employees" No kidding, Sakura thought. She looked at Itachi, who was watching her with a very predatory gaze, as casually as she could Sakura walked over to the wall of his office and leant against it, her heart was hammering. She recalled their awkward walk to his office and how people almost tripped over each other to avoid him and get out of his path, suddenly she felt very out of her depth and she could see why Sasuke felt the need to get away from work

The door swung open and Itachi showed his displeasure by glaring at whoever dared not to knock, disturbing his time with his new companion. The intruder ignored Sakura's presence and turned to face Itachi. Itachi smirked slightly, of course, only his little brother would have the nerve to annoy him like that, admirable really but he only made things worse for himself in the long run.

Sakura looked at Sasuke's blank expression. His eyes were hard and cold and he was completely unlike the Sasuke she had come to know. Without a word to his brother Sasuke dumped a pile of documents on the desk and turned to leave. Once he was at the door Itachi broke the silence.

"I hope you remembered to send copies of this to our accountants as well" Sasuke said nothing but he had half turned his head and Sakura could see that his eyes were narrowed.

"Well never mind" Itachi continued as if he was oblivious to the tension in the room that was pressing down on them "I don't mean to question your competence" Sasuke left the room shutting the door silently behind him. Through the half open blinds Sakura could see Naruto approach him and strike up a conversation as Sasuke headed down the corridor, she watched the direction they were headed in the hope of finding Sasuke's office later.

When she turned to face Itachi again she saw that he was engrossed in the papers Sasuke had given him, feeling unsure again Sakura cleared her through.

"You can go now if you want" Itachi said without looking at her and Sakura turned on her heel and left in the noisiest way possible, what had been the point in that? She wondered, she found it impossible to read his moods, being flirtatious outside, practically ignoring her later, and then wanting to talk again in his office and then he had the nerve to dismiss her as if she was insignificant. Sakura glared at the floor and she was planning on using him for information, it turned out that it was the other way round but she couldn't yet figure out what he wanted to use her for.

Sakura walked down the corridor in the direction she had seen Naruto and Sasuke head trying to look like she knew where she was going. After a few false turns she finally located Sasuke's office and she could see even from the outside that it was considerable smaller than Itachi's. She took a deep breath trying to steady her nerves before knocking on the office door, but a voice suddenly startled her.

"Don't worry, he's not as bad as his brother" Sakura jumped visibly and the voice laughed, Sakura turned and saw a young woman behind her regarding her with some amusement.

"You're new here right?" Without waiting for an answer she continued "Anyway I'm guessing that you've already had an encounter with the bosses other son but let me tall you Sasuke's not that scary, here let me" Sakura watched open mouthed as the girl stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"There's someone to see you Mr. Uchiha, I think they're new, fresh from an encounter with your brother so be nice"

"Hn" Came the reply and Sakura found herself ushered into the office, the door shutting behind her. Sasuke finished what her was writing and looked up at her.

"I'm guessing you haven't had a sudden change of job" He said folding his arms as he leant back in his chair.

"No sorry, I didn't want to say that I didn't belong here with all the security" Sasuke nodded and gestured for her to take the seat in front of him.

"So…" Sasuke started.

"So?" Sakura repeated, mimicking his tone of voice.

"How have you been?" Sakura bit her bottom lip, this wasn't good, Sasuke didn't usually start conversations like this, he didn't really bother with normal formalities.

"Well I had a scary encounter with your brother" Sasuke stiffened slightly, it was barely visible but Sakura knew what she was looking for.

"Oh?" Sasuke said neutrally and Sakura gave and exasperated sigh.

"You saw me Sasuke, don't try and dodge this conversation, I'd rather not have this hanging over us" Sasuke scowled.

"I had an amazing conversation with Naruto where he let slip your surname one time" Sakura continued "And I don't blame you for not telling me it but I was curious, I wanted to see where you walked and ran into Itachi" Sasuke's gaze was fixed on the side of his computer as he glared at nothing. Sakura sighed.

"You had good timing then anyway" She said trying to lighten the tone "If you hadn't come into his office then I think he would have tried to have a real conversation with me" Sasuke remained impassive and Sakura grew annoyed, she could usually reign in her temper but today had been full of annoyances, and Sasuke giving her the silent treatment was the last straw.

"You know you're really not acting yourself here, or is it that you're only acting like someone else with me" Sakura said angrily "I really don't get you Sasuke once I think that I'm finally starting to understand you something else comes to light. You don't like talking about things that are personal and that's fine but don't shut me out completely Sasuke" This sparked Sasuke's own temper.

"Well what do you want from me Sakura? We only met a few month ago, and you said yourself things were fine"

"_Were_ fine" Sakura emphasised the first word "You don't trust me do you Sasuke? What are you trying to do use me as a new way to piss your brother off? I don't want the two of you using me for some stupid war with each other" Sakura said and even as she said it she knew she was acting irrationally but by then it was too late and Sasuke's anger had increased.

"Don't bring that bastard into this; he had nothing to do with it,"

"Why then or can't you even part with that single bit of information about yourself" Sasuke glared at her, and Sakura trembled in her chair, every instinct she had was telling her to back down, she was more accustomed to smoothing things over in relationships that was always how it had worked someone got angry and she had optimistically made things better, in every falling out she and Ino had she was the one who had come back and smoothed things over.

But not this time, Sakura squashed all those feelings and met Sasuke's furious gaze, she knew she had incensed him by mentioning Itachi and she found herself wanting to push things further.

"The reason I spoke to you was because you were being so annoying, I did it to shut you up" He said and Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly, against her better nature she wanted to hurt him, she knew she'd regret it later but right now it was her anger that fuelled her words and rational thought could come later.

"Is that so? Well maybe I was wrong to leave Itachi" She said harshly. Sasuke's eyes glittered dangerously at that name and Sakura's heart was hammering in her chest, "At least he said I was pretty, something you never did" She braced herself waiting for Sasuke to reach breaking point, there was a slight flicker in his eyes and Sakura expected him to shout at her, to really lose it, as opposed to the simmering rage she had encountered before. But Sasuke abruptly shut her out, his face changed to look completely composed.

"Fine then" He said emotionlessly. "I hope you enjoy yourself, and who knows maybe you can get him to tell you his life story if that's what you want" Sakura shut her eyes and sighed. Her sudden anger had left her completely and she felt completely drained and wishing that she could take back all her words.

Sakura turned and left the office, she paused in the door way.

"I just want you to trust me Sasuke" She said softly "If you want me you know where to find me" There was no reply.

Sakura found her way out of the Uchiha office buildings and walked along the now dark street to get home. She was shaken from her encounter with both Sasuke and Itachi, and was startled to feel wetness as she rubbed her eyes. Great, she was crying, and over a relationship with a stubborn and impossible man that had never really begun. She sighed and wiped her eyes, although she did have fun when she was with him.

Did that make it worth it?

Did she really want to throw that away?

Sakura sighed again and decided to rethink these questions when she was in a more rational frame of mind. But she couldn't deny that she would miss him if she never saw him again.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura spent her next few weeks with a kind of restless energy. She found that she couldn't concentrate on anything and found herself hating her radio for playing too many romantic songs about relationships that ended to quickly. Although she realised that she was being ridiculous, she couldn't help regret her own outburst at Sasuke all those days ago. She was happy for Hinata, whose own relationship with Naruto seemed to be getting steadily better and Hinata herself said she didn't feel shy around him anymore. She had met up with them on odd occasions and knew that Hinata was happy and Naruto was always very attentive to her even if he did sometimes get caught up in his own enthusiasm for something. Sakura was glad that Hinata had left what Temari had termed "the growing doom of being single" but deep inside she knew she felt a little jealous and irritated when they all met up, as to her, Naruto was just a reminder of Sasuke and her stupid mistake of shouting at him, pushing him too hard.

True to her word Sakura still went to the coffee shop every week - just in case. But she went back to isolating herself with a book, escaping into someone else's world and problems, taking comfort in the fact that by the end of the book all these problems would be resolved not matter what hardship the character faced during the course of the novel. As each day slipped past Sasuke never came, and she heard nothing about him from Naruto or anyone else and they all seemed to assume that her relationship with Sasuke was the same as it was before and Sakura didn't want to enlighten them.

She knew that Ino was busy living with Shikamaru and that everything was going well, despite a few arguments over whose turn it was to wash up, and again Sakura was glad for them. Tenten was busy planning her wedding having finally set a date in the early spring and she was intent of having everything just perfect, apparently driving Neji up the wall. So Sakura spent her time with Temari, her last single friend out of her group at school, the only one who knew of her troubles with Sasuke after they came pouring out after the better half of a bottle of vodka. Temari had cheered her up and insisted that she was too good for him anyway, even though she had never met him.

Tenten dragged her out with Neji and herself but that was just even more depressing than complaining about the state of her love life, of lack of, with Temari. Spending time with Neji and Tenten's group of friends meant that she had to put up with Lee for an evening and although at time's he could be quite the gentleman Sakura found herself hiding behind her old lie of having Kiba as her boyfriend. Luckily he didn't mind and played along, telling Lee about an imaginary date they had been on, although he had told her away from Lee to find herself a real boyfriend to put with this.

Sakura sighed slightly as she entered the coffee shop; it was amazing how much reading she had done in the past weeks and after weeks of Sasuke's disappearance form the shop, although he wasn't one for much talking when they spent time together whether in the coffee shop or somewhere else but they never did any reading either. More than once Sakura had wondered whether Sasuke was quiet because he was shy, or if he didn't say much as when he was with his friends Naruto just filled up the silence with a one-sided conversation.

Sakura joined the back of the slow moving queue for her coffee and scanned the coffee shop, it seemed that the sudden chill in the air had led most people to stop off for coffee and thaw as the shop was almost full. Sakura shook her head slightly as she felt her thoughts return to a time where she had to join Sasuke on a table as it was full. She was getting fed up of the constant reminders of him in her life, if he could so easily walk out of her life she was annoyed that she couldn't she do the same.

Walking up to the till to order, Sakura heard the door open and close and she shivered slightly as a blast of cold air invaded the warmth of the coffee shop.

"Could I have a large coffee please" Sakura asked

"Could you make that two, to go?" A voice cut in behind her.

Sakura turned and was shocked to see Sasuke standing next to her after all these weeks; he gave her an unsure smile as if he wasn't sure if she'd be happy to see him or not as she just stood there her mouth open slightly. His eyes shone slightly as he watched her reaction with some amusement.

"Want to go somewhere more interesting?" Sakura couldn't help it, she just stared at him, after all these weeks her turned up without warning and expected her to act as if nothing had happened?

Just before Sakura opened her mouth to let her anger out something stopped her. Sasuke was watching her with a guarded expression in his eyes almost as if he expected her to get angry. Sakura remembered her conversation with Naruto and her more recent one with Itachi, she wondered if Sasuke, who was seen as a disappointment in his family's eyes, was used to people unleashing their anger on him, or to them disappointing him, she wondered how much courage he had to gather to even approach her.

Sakura gave him a slight smile.

"Sure, but I doesn't mean I've forgiven you just yet." She said and before Sakura could react Sasuke had paid for both their drinks and led her out the shop with her coffee and he took her out into the cold wind as the last few days of winter desperately tried keep its hold on the city.

Sakura followed Sasuke a few paces behind, she walked quickly to catch up with him so they were walking, more or less, side by side for a change. As usual Sasuke walked ahead and Sakura had to dodge round people in order to stay near him. She caught his eye and smiled slightly. He didn't offer her any apology for his absence and Sakura suddenly found she didn't need one, the fact that he was back seemed good enough for her. She smiled slightly and chanced a sip of her coffee as she walked quickly to keep up with Sasuke's long strides.

"Where's more interesting then?" She asked but Sasuke just shook his head.

"Secret." He said simply and quickened his pace.

"Hey, that's not fair." Sakura protested as she dashed to keep up with him, trying to hold the lid of her coffee so she wouldn't spill any. "At least give me a hint."

"You've been there before." Sasuke said over his shoulder at her, Sakura stared at him trying to figure out where he meant when suddenly he grabbed her free hand and pulled her across the road.

Sakura looked up at the tall building in front of them, her mouth formed an 'o' shape as she realised where they were headed.

"The roof?" She asked and Sasuke gave her a quick smile as he pushed the doors open to let them in.

Just like before the man, Kakashi, sat there reading and Sakura smiled at the familiarity of the scene. Kakashi glance up from his book.

"Oh? Sasuke it's you, and you've brought your lady friend back." Sasuke rolled his eyes at this statement and Sakura gave a small wave. "I'm guessing you two are heading on up then," Sasuke nodded. "I see," Kakashi turned another page in his book and that seemed to be the end of the conversation.

Sakura followed Sasuke up the concrete staircase, their footsteps echoed in the silence and in no time at all they reached the door to the roof.

"You must come here a lot Sasuke, to be that familiar with him." Sakura commented indicating down the flights of stairs towards Kakashi, Sasuke shrugged slightly as he opened the door.

"I guess, but it's a good place to come to think." Sakura nodded her agreement as she followed Sasuke out into the open air and toward the edge.

They stood next to each other on the roof in silence, the wind tugging at their clothes and despite the warmer weather Sakura was glad of her coffee keeping her hands warm as she drank. Sasuke, at ever, seemed oblivious to the cold.

"You know," Sasuke said hesitantly, "I could always skip the rest of work today." His offer hung temptingly in the air between them.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't do that." He turned slightly so he could see her out the corner of his eye.

"Do you always do what you're supposed to?" He asked and Sakura gave him a small smile.

"Well, I've always been told I shouldn't talk to strangers and I started talking to you." Sakura teased, there was a slight pause and she sighed, "I'd love to spend more time with you but I don't want you getting into trouble Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged and turned away to look across the city, he leant against the wall around the edge of the building.

"Besides," Sakura continued, "We would have had more time together if you hadn't been so stubborn and come to see me earlier." Sakura looked down at her empty coffee cup, playing with the lid. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sasuke sharply turn to face her, his eyes narrowed slightly and she could feel the intensity of his gaze on her. .

Sakura turned to face him so she could look him directly in the eye.

"Stubbornness," She insisted and he took a step towards her, Sakura took a step back. She giggled slightly. Sasuke gave her a questioning look that made Sakura laugh even more as he stepped forward again. Sakura took a few quick steps back so they were even further apart than before. He gave her a slight smile and set down his coffee cup, Sakura wondered briefly whether she'd ever see him smile properly, but all thought of Sasuke's potential good humour fled when he ran towards her, Sakura gave a slight shriek and ran in the opposite direction. She kept running, hearing Sasuke's footsteps behind her, Sakura ran faster and hid behind a ventilation fan on the roof, her hand over her mouth to stop her laughter.

"Found you." Sasuke said softly in her ear and before Sakura could react he seized her round the waist so she couldn't run any further. Sakura turned round in his arms and gave him a broad smile.

"Shame I was starting to enjoy myself," Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Were you?" Sakura found herself returning to her earlier thoughts

"Smile for me." Sasuke frowned at her.

"What?"

"Smile for me," She repeated, "A real genuine smile." She reached out and put a hand on the side of his face, his check felt cool to her touch, "please?"

"And why would I do that?" Sasuke asked leaning towards her, Sakura stood on tiptoe so she could almost look him in the eye without tilting her head back.

"Because I want you to." He leant his forehead on hers.

"So?"

"And because…" Sakura's heart was hammering in her chest as Sasuke moved his arms so she was pulled even closer to him.

"Because?" He prompted but Sakura's mind had gone blank.

"Um...because.." Sasuke's gaze flicked down to her lips and Sakura closed her eyes.

"Yes?" He said softly, his lips were inches from hers.

There was a loud crash behind them as the door to the roof swung open and hit the wall behind.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called and they sprung apart both of them trying not to look guilty.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked when Kakashi had come across them he sounded surprisingly composed as Sakura's heart was still racing.

"You're father phoned, apparently you're needed back early." Kakashi said and Sasuke frowned.

"Why?" He asked and Kakashi shrugged

"He didn't say, and when I called and asked Naruto I didn't really understand his answer, he sounded like he was panicking." Sasuke glanced at Sakura.

"I better go," He muttered and Sakura nodded. "If Naruto's getting hysterical it probably means that my brothers doing God knows what to people." Sakura offered him a slight smile.

"Then I'll see you next week?" Sasuke paused and then nodded before heading towards the door leaving Sakura standing with Kakashi.

"Unfortunate timing was it?" He asked innocently and Sakura glared at him.

"What makes you think that?" She spat and made her own way back across the roof to go home.


	14. Chapter 14

The weeks passed quickly and as the weather slowly got warmer Sakura spent less and less time with Sasuke in the coffee shop and more time walking through the town. Although they became more comfortable in each other's company neither brought up the argument they had had and Sakura never asked Sasuke much about his childhood as she didn't really want to intrude on his past. She was happy with him for now and that was all that mattered.

Sakura sighed as they stood outside the tall Uchiha offices, they were silent, as usual, and Sakura had noticed that Sasuke had a tendency to get quieter as they approached his work. Now she knew where he worked she generally walked back with him towards the offices he worked in at what she guessed was the end of his lunch break, although she was unaware that she had made Sasuke's attendance at work improve by doing this.

"Sasuke?" He turned his head towards her slightly to show that he was listening. "Are you going to Neji and Tenten's wedding?" She asked and e nodded.

"I have to, it's a family obligation." He said, Sakura giggled.

"You know you could just go to have fun," She said and Sasuke gave her a sceptical look.

"Not with my family," There was a pause as Sakura's smile faded slightly. "I guess you're going then." It was more of a statement than a question but Sakura answered him all the same.

"Yes, I have to, I'm a bridesmaid," Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I get to wear a lovely little bridesmaid's dress that looks good on Ino and Hinata but not me." She noticed that Sasuke was giving her a quizzical look "Pastel pink? With my hair?" She sighed and leant against the metal railing near the road. "And it's not even as if it's the same colour it's a different shade" She glanced at Sasuke's blank expression. "Sorry, I guess you didn't want to hear all that."

"Well, it was certainly interesting." He said carefully and Sakura giggled. They both fell silent and gazed up at the offices again.

"Do you have to go back to work?" Sakura asked suddenly wishing she had more time with him today.

"Probably." She looked thoughtfully at Sasuke.

"I'll see you at the wedding then this weekend." She gave him a broad smile, "And you have to dance with me at least once," Sasuke just stared at her. "Don't look at me like that."

"I'm not dancing." He said shortly.

"You've danced with me before." Sakura pointed out, Sasuke flushed slightly as he recalled that time when they had danced outside the restaurant in the cold.

"That was different there was no one there," He insisted.

"Just ignore everyone," He still looked reluctant. "What are you most worried about?" She asked "whose reaction?" Sasuke looked at his feet.

"Sakura, you've met my brother and-" He cut off, biting his bottom lip slightly, his expression closed, whatever he was going to say was lost and Sakura knew that no matter how much she pressed him he wouldn't say anything else. Sakura smiled at him.

"At least think about it, I still want to dance with you, so," She shrugged. "If you want to that'd be great." Sasuke looked at Sakura's face and she felt herself blushing slightly. "I'll see you at the wedding then." She muttered before turning away from him.

"See you." Sasuke said softly but Sakura still heard him and walked off with a smile.

The rest of the week passed quickly between work, being teased by Temari and Tsunade about Sasuke, and at home she often got hysterical phone calls from Tenten who was panicking about her impending wedding and wasn't satisfied with Neji's opinion or anyone else's that she had called previously or probably the people she would call after Sakura's attempts to sooth her frazzled nerves.

The day of the wedding came and Sakura found herself getting up ridiculously early to get to Ino's place to get ready. She drove half asleep through the deserted roads, arriving in time to see Shikamaru being ushered out of the door, she gave him a slight smile as they passed but Shikamaru looked even sleepier than she felt.

"Ino?" Sakura called pushing open the door.

"I'm upstairs," Sakura dumped her bag and headed up the stairs to see Ino at the mirror in the bed room with her hair wet from the shower already setting out her makeup.

"Jeez, Ino how are you up and ready this early." Sakura asked yawning.

"I've already had five cups of coffee Sakura dear, feel free to help yourself to some in the kitchen but you better come back here soon so I can curl your hair and keep a look out for Hinata." Ino said cheerfully but Sakura just yawned again and shuffled downstairs grabbing a mug and filling it with the steaming liquid. Sakura took a deep breath in inhaling the rich smell of coffee and took a sip savouring the taste. A knock at the door interrupted her reverie and Sakura went to let Hinata in still clutching her coffee.

She was greeted by a tired smile and Hinata stumbled up the stairs to see Ino, Sakura followed. In her room Ino had already curled her hair and smiled at her two friends.

"Morning Hinata, you got your beloved coffee at last Sakura?" Sakura stuck her tongue out at the blonde and Hinata just giggled. "Who wants to be next?" Ino asked brandishing her curling irons.

"I'll go," Sakura volunteered and sat down in front of Ino's mirror. "Although I'm not sure I want you holding hot metal near my head." She muttered as Ino wound a lock of her hair up in the tongs.

"Nonsense," Ino said, "I'll make you look marvellous." Hinata flopped onto bed and watched Ino and Sakura with some amusement. "Is your boy going?" She asked.

"My boy?" Sakura asked, confused.

"You know the coffee guy, Mr. Mysterious" Ino prompted and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You mean Sasuke."

"Yeah, he knows Neji doesn't he?" Hinata chipped in and Sakura frowned as Ino tugged at a rebellious piece of Sakura's hair.

"He going, but didn't you meet him at your housewarming, he was there," She asked Ino.

"He was?" Ino frowned "I didn't see him, this time I want properly introduced to him." Ino finished curling Sakura's hair and grasped her shoulder forcing her back into the seat when she was about to move. She dumped what felt like an entire can of hairspray around the general area of Sakura's hair before she released Sakura who admired her freshly curled hair, which was probably not going to move one millimetre all night after all that, and moved so Hinata could settle on the seat.

"It's funny Tenten getting married don't you think?" Ino said.

"How do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"Well it doesn't seem that long ago that we all met," Sakura smiled slightly.

"We were ten Ino that was ages ago," She said.

"I can see what she means though, it's gone so quickly," Hinata commented.

"Exactly, I can remember when we promised to keep in touch before going to university, none of us really had a steady boyfriend in school." Sakura and Hinata exchanged looks.

"Excuse me, I stayed with Arashino for a year, it was you who kept going from one guy to the next,"

"Its more surprising that you've settled down than Tenten," Hinata said and Ino blushed.

"That's beside the point," She said airily.

"I meant that I always think love and marriage is a long way off and it's strange that one of us is ready to dedicate herself to someone for the rest of her life."

"I guess so," Sakura said, "They'll be so happy together though."

"Yeah," Hinata said, almost wistfully, "You know that Neji will take care of Tenten." Ino snorted.

"He's still a workaholic" Hinata giggled.

"Neji takes all his duties very seriously," She said as Ino finished Hinata's hair and stood back to admire her work. They all crowded round the mirror laughing, Sakura tugged at one of her curls and watched as it instantly sprang back into place.

"Once we've got the dresses on people won't be able to tell us apart," She said lightly.

"Yeah, it's like the time we all dressed up the same when we went down town," Ino commented and Hinata groaned.

"That was terrible," She muttered.

"We've got to meet Tenten soon" Sakura said, looking at the clock.

"Oops!" Ino muttered "Maybe I took too long on our hair."

"It's still too early though," Sakura muttered pulling a face as she finished off her, now cold, coffee and dashing down stairs to grab her makeup and dress.

They all got ready in a hurry, pulling on their identical dresses and applying makeup and Ino fetched her camera for a picture before they left.

"Are you ready?" She asked and took a picture of Hinata and Sakura.

"That's not fair we need one of you" Sakura protested and grabbed the camera off her, Ino struck a pose as Sakura took the picture. Hinata took the camera off Sakura.

"We need one of all of us," She said and they put their arms round each other as Hinata held the camera at arm's length. "I hope this work," She said.

"Just take it," Ino giggled, and the camera flashed, they looked at the display as the picture came up.

"It's good enough," Sakura said "Tenten's hired a photographer anyway." They dashed out of Ino's house and towards Shikamaru who had come back and was waiting for them in his car.

"How do we look?" Ino asked climbing into the front seat.

"Fine," He replied and Ino scowled at him.

"You're meant to say beautiful or something like that, that I am the light of your life and the time you spent without me had pale in comparison to the time we were dating" She insisted and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"No one's that poetic in the morning." Sakura muttered to Hinata.

"Fine. You all look radiant," He said stopping briefly at a red light.

He pulled up at the church and let them out as he found a place to park, it was still early and people were milling around waiting for more people to arrive.

"Where do you think Tenten is?" Ino asked.

"Out the back," Hinata said. "And then the car's going to bring her round the front of the church." They found a few select room at the back of the church an knocked on each door in turn until they got a reply.

"What is it?"

"Tenten, can we come it?"

"Sure," The door opened as Tenten let them in.

"You look amazing" Ino said and the other two agreed with her.

"Neji will be speechless," Sakura said.

"As long as he can agree to marry me," Tenten joked nervously.

"Are you nervous?" Hinata asked and Tenten nodded.

"I keep thinking that I'm going to ruin my vows," She said.

"You'll be fine." Ino said soothingly.

"I hope so," Tenten said. "I can't believe I'm actually getting married in half an hour, despite all the wedding planning I think it's only just hit me now, I'm actually going to have to start signing things Tenten Hyuuga."

"Hyuuga's not that much of a bad surname," Hinata said and Tenten gave her a sheepish smile.

"You know what I mean."

Tenten paced the room for a few moments ignoring all her friends' efforts to calm her nerves and when the time came Sakura, Ino and Hinata slipped outside to get ready to meet Tenten when the car took her to the front of the church.

"Hey, nice dress." A soft voice said behind Sakura and she turned to see Sasuke behind her looking unusually smart in a suit and tie.

"Sasuke," Sakura smiled, "It's good to see you."

"Likewise," He said looking amused at Sakura's attempt of formality. "I just came to say that I think I'll take you up on your offer." Sakura looked blank.

"Offer?" Then the penny dropped, he was agreeing to dance with her, "great, I'll look forward to it."

"I best get back to my family before they wonder where I am." Sasuke said looking around for them.

"Oh, before you go," Sakura said and Sasuke turned to look at her again. "These are my friends Ino, and you've already met Hinata." Sasuke nodded to them both and gave a soft 'hello' before apologising again and heading off into the church.

"And here I thought you'd forgotten about us," Ino said.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"You two only had eyes for each other," Ino said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Everyone had entered the church now and there was a slight rumble as the car pulled up beside them, Tenten stepped out, veiled this time, and took the arm of her old teacher Gai, who had volunteered to take her down the aisle in place of her father. Sakura, Ino and Hinata all gave her reassuring smiles before taking their positions behind her to walk down towards Neji.

Inside the church everyone got to their feet and turned to look at them. All conversation stopped and Sakura felt uneasy even though all their attention was focused on Tenten. She could pick out a few people she could recognise; Kiba was sitting with Shino and looked strange all dressed up, most alarming of all was Lee who seemed to be wearing dark green instead of the usual black. Nearer to the front sat Sasuke with his family and Sakura recognised Itachi sitting by his father and there was a strong resemblance between the two. Sasuke's softer features were more similar to his mothers, who he sat next to with Naruto on his other side.

A quick glance at Hinata told her that she had spotted Naruto as her eyes were straight ahead; a small blush adorned her cheeks. Sakura looked back towards Sasuke and noticed him looking at her and she gave him a brief smile before halting at the altar and then moving to the side with the other bridesmaids. Tenten stepped up to join Neji and they all moved to the side as they started the wedding vows.

"Neji," Tenten started softly, but as she spoke her voice grew in confidence, "as most people know we met in interesting circumstances and I wouldn't recommend to anyone shouting at a man to get their attention but that seemed to work for me." Sakura exchanged smiles with Ino and Hinata. "We've been through a lot together and I know you've made many changes in your life just for me, like, you don't work for twelve hours each day anymore, but even now as I'm probably embarrassing you by telling everyone your flaws I know that you still care for me and although no one's perfect, I know that you're the closest thing to perfect I'll ever know."

Sakura blinked rapidly, it was stupid crying at a wedding she thought, they were supposed to be happy, she took a shaky breathe in to try and stop the tears in her eyes from over flowing and chanced a glance at Ino, who was allowing her tears to fall freely, and Hinata who had hidden her face in a handkerchief.

"Tenten, I knew when I first met you that it was fated that we would meet again," Neji started and Sakura could feel herself tearing up again. "We may have had our arguments and fallen out a few times but you've always been there for me and supported me through everything. You may be stubborn, determined and have a lot of qualities that I didn't expect to fall in love with but despite all our differences all that matters is that I do love you and I will make it my duty to make you happy for the rest of our lives." Sakura smiled, she took Tenten's bouquet off her for the ceremony with the rings and noticed that behind her veil Tenten was red with embarrassment at Neji's speech.

They solemnly made their promises to each other and after pledging their bodies and souls to each other for eternity exchanged their first kiss as a married couple to much cheering. The wedding photographer stepped out for a few photos and Tenten insisted on a photo of all her and Neji's close friends after the usual ones. After much confusion Sakura found herself between Sasuke and Naruto and she gave them a quick smile.

"I saw you crying," Sasuke commented.

"Well it was sweet," Sakura said defensively, "I never knew Neji could be that romantic" They paused and the photographer took the picture.

"Nice to know he completely ignored Naruto's suggestion for his speech," Sasuke said.

"Hey that was good," Naruto protested and Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"I don't think she would have appreciated being compared to a bowl of noodles," Sasuke commented and Sakura giggled.

"Come on Sakura," Ino said putting her arm through Sakura's, "Shikamaru need to give us all a lift to the meal and party."

"Right, I'm coming." Sakura replied and then turned back to Sasuke. "You owe me a dance remember?"


	15. Chapter 15

The heart is known for its secrets. Scientists have dissected it, analysed it, examined it, put it into parts and chambers but they still haven't found what makes it, well, tick. They haven't found how it makes people stand in front of all their friends and declare their undying love for each other; they haven't found why even the most wilful girls spend their lives being exasperated with the laziest of men just for love or what brings two completely different individuals together. And they certainly haven't found out why two hearts bring people together in the first place.

The heart had brought Neji and Tenten together after so much, even bringing them through family gatherings and pre-wedding jitters, which Tenten had coped with by downing almost half a bottle of vodka to her friend's horror to her credit it was at least a small bottle, and now they were sharing their spotlight dance, their arms around each other with eyes closed oblivious to the people watching them.

Their hearts causing them to focus only on each other.

Even Shikamaru, who had a habit of giving up, had been compelled to stay with Ino through thick and thin and her screaming at him to 'get off his lazy backside and help her' because of his heart. Sakura smiled as she watched Naruto and Hinata talk amongst themselves ignoring the hostile looks Neji was sending in Naruto's direction, Hinata was giggling softly at something Naruto was whispering to her. Sakura scanned the room and found herself looking over towards the person her heart was leading her to, Sasuke was in conversation with Kiba and Shino and a small smile crossed her face as he looked relatively happy compared to when he was in the church with his family.

A small frown crossed her face as she wondered, once again about his home life, after gently questioning Naruto she had discovered that he lived alone and away from the rest of his family but she was reluctant to pry further and ask what things had been like before he moved out.

"Fancy meeting you here." A quiet voice said behind her and Sakura jumped as she saw Itachi behind her.

"Oh, hello, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, trying to remain polite despite her unease.

"My family's friendly with the Hyuuga's, I already told you that." Itachi said, Sakura nodded feeling stupid and they fell into an uncomfortable silence, Sakura shifted uneasily but Itachi seemed content with just watching her.

"I never expected to see you again." He said finally and Sakura felt confused, she briefly wondered if it was some kind of family trait to talk in riddles and never fully explain yourself as Sasuke also seemed to be in the habit of doing that. Sakura shrugged.

"Well you did," She said shortly trying to think of a way out of this conversation.

"Indeed." The conversation lagged again and Sakura found herself struggling to find something to say, Itachi showed no sign of being bored with her but he didn't seem to want to actually engage in conversation either. She shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable under his relentless gaze and similarly to when she first met him, Sakura found herself comparing him to Sasuke.

Sasuke was kinder, that was obvious, and it was surprisingly easier to carry a conversation with him as opposed to Itachi who seemed to sum everything up in one word. Sasuke, despite his seriousness, was fun to be around and made her laugh, Itachi made Sakura uneasy and a little bit afraid. Although she had to admit that they both were attractive, Sakura didn't have any compulsion to kiss Itachi and Sasuke on the other hand…

Sakura shook her head slightly to pull herself out of her thoughts and noticed that Itachi was still content watching her, although now he seemed rather curious because of her sudden movement. Sakura offered him a small smile.

"Excuse me," She said to Itachi, "I need to-" She waved her hand in the direction of the toilets and he nodded dismissing her. Sakura turned away feeling faintly uneasy as she felt his eyes on her back as she walked away.

Sakura saw Ino watching her and she jerked her head in the direction of the toilets in a silent message, Ino gave a short nod and made her excuses to the group she was with and separated to join Sakura.

Once in the toilets they both examined their reflections critically in the mirror; adjusting a few stray pieces of hair or an imaginary crease in their dresses.

"Do you know who you were just talking to?" Ino hissed, "I asked Shikamaru, Itachi Uchiha."

"I don't want his attention," Sakura muttered, "Did he tell you that Itachi is Sasuke's brother, and I understand that they don't really get along." Ino was silent for a while.

"Is that why he was talking to you?" She almost sounded indignant. "To get at Sasuke?"

"Because he can't be interested in my looks or personality, can he?" Sakura said rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean; does he know you and Sasuke are, well, meeting up?" Ino asked, adding under her breath, "as you always insist you're not dating," Sakura looked thoughtful.

"I don't know, I don't see how he would know unless he saw us together."

"Have you met him earlier, before the wedding I mean?" Ino stopped messing with her hair and turned to look directly as Sakura who sighed, absentmindedly curling her hair round her fingers.

"Yes, when Naruto told me that Sasuke was an Uchiha I later went to their offices to see where he worked and..."

"Met by chance?"

"Yes."

"Interesting coincidence though." Ino muttered and Sakura tried to laugh it off.

"You're seeing conspiracy theories again Ino, I still say that Sasuke is not a spy or anything like that I've seen him at work." And they both fell silent for a while. "Although, Itachi did insist on taking me into the building, and it was when Sasuke later came into his office," She shook her head vigorously, "No. It must be a coincidence; otherwise it would mean that Itachi's been following us around or something weird like that."

"There are no coincidences only fate, that's what Neji used to say, or something like that," Ino said smiling, then she grew serious, "Is Itachi a touchy subject with Sasuke?" She asked warily and Sakura nodded.

"We argued the day Sasuke saw me in Itachi's office, I think Itachi has a way of sparking Sasuke's temper."

"All the reported stuff about the Uchiha company focuses on Itachi and his dad doesn't it." Ino mused, "He must be the golden child of the family, it must have caused a rift between them." Sakura stayed silent, thinking about the bruises Sasuke sometimes had on his arms, wondering what could explain the reasons behind that.

"But you argued?" Ino grinned at her friend "is that why you were so quiet and subdued a few weeks back?" Sakura blushed in confirmation and Ino laughed, the noise echoing off the tiled walls.

"Let's get back to the party," Sakura muttered and hurried out of the toilets, Ino chased her.

"Aw, Sakura you like him!" She insisted childishly.

"Shut up Ino," Sakura hissed.

"Sakura, I've been looking all over for you." Both Ino and Sakura were startled to see Lee in front of them giving them a broad grin.

"Oh hi Lee," Sakura said politely and she saw Ino trying to subtly edge away, the traitor, unfortunately for Sakura Lee only had eyes for her and didn't notice Ino's escape.

"Sakura, would you honour me with a dance?"

"Um…"

"Just the one, surely Kiba can't protest at that, we're at a party everyone's dancing and I'd hate for you to be left alone." Sakura inwardly panicked, Lee was a good friend to her and that's how she wanted it to stay but agreeing to dance with him? Would that be considered leading him on? She didn't want to give him false hope after all the times she had declined a date with him.

"Sakura," Another person joined then, she turned to see Sasuke who was watching her with some amusement again, "I believe you promised to dance with me."

"Yes I did," She turned to Lee, "Sorry."

"Don't worry Sakura I understand it's importance for you to keep your promises." Sakura smiled at him in return and grabbed Sasuke's arm, dragging him off before Lee could get her to promise to dance with him.

"You've got good timing Sasuke," Sakura commented as they headed out to the dance floor.

"Well I was talking to your friend Kiba and your, uh, problems with Lee came up in conversation." Sasuke replied and Sakura turned to look at him horrified.

"Oh God, what did Kiba say?" Sasuke shrugged.

"That he was pretending to be your boyfriend, why?" He studied her expression "Does it get worse?" Sakura shook her head slightly. As they stepped up to the edge of the dancers the song ended and a slower, more romantic one came on. Sakura chanced a sideways glance at Sasuke who held his blank expression but there was a hint of pink on his checks.

"Sasuke, you're really quite shy aren't you?" Sakura teased and Sasuke blushed.

"What makes you say that?"

"You get a lot quieter around other people," Sakura said. "And you're embarrassed about dancing with me." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but then just shook his head slightly and offered Sakura his hand.

"Come on, let's go." Sakura took the proffered hand and Sasuke led her out to the centre of the dancers. Sakura took her position in front of Sasuke and they both stood there for a moment overcome with a wave of nervousness, until Sasuke, determined to prove that he wasn't shy, took one of Sakura's hands in his and placed his other hand on her waist. Sakura smiled up at him and rested her hand on his shoulder. Sakura could see Ino behind Sasuke looking in their direction; she was smiling and nudging Hinata who was looking at them out of the corner of her eye.

"I think we've been spotted." She said to Sasuke as they started to move, the steps were slightly awkward at first as they both felt self conscious from the attention but they gradually grew in confidence and began to move their feet without having to think about it.

"By who?" Sasuke asked

"Ino, and now she's made Hinata and Naruto notice us." Sasuke sighed, and glanced in their direction, they were all watching them and smiling and Naruto was whispering something to Hinata again, with a broad smile on his face.

"He's never going to let me forget this," Sasuke muttered and Sakura laughed. They fell silent for a while both feeling content to just dance but after a few moments Sakura found herself dwelling on the conversation she had shared with Ino, and she wondered if Itachi was watching them now.

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly, "I know you and you're brother don't get along but-" She felt Sasuke stiffen slightly, "how far would he go to hurt you?" He pulled away from her slightly as they danced, moving to the familiar steps.

"What do you mean?" He asked puzzled by the conversation Sakura looked down at their feet.

"It's just; I was talking to Ino…" She trailed off "I don't know." Sasuke noticed how agitated Sakura had become and hesitantly drew her closer to him.

"Don't worry about it," He murmured and Sakura buried her face in the crook of his neck feeling strangely comforted by his presence.

Sasuke frowned slightly as he held Sakura, resting his chin on the top of her head. They continued swaying to the music but what Sakura said had troubled him, he had seen Sakura talking to Itachi earlier and now he wondered what it had been about.

"Is it always like this for you Sasuke?" Sakura asked her voice was muffled slightly as she still was leaning on him, he face pressed against his shirt. "Is your life always full of tension and worry?" Sasuke was silent for a while before he finally spoke.

"Not when I'm with you," He felt Sakura shift and he released his hold on her, letting her pull away from him. Sakura smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Sasuke, I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you." He was still frowning slightly at her in concern and she offered him a reassuring smile. Sasuke scanned the room and noticed his parents looking their way, his mum was smiling faintly but his father was frowning.

"I think my parents want to meet you," He whispered in her ear.

"What makes you say that?" Sakura asked looking up at him, noticing that slightly guarded look in his eyes.

"They keep looking this way," He said and Sakura gave him a cheerful smile

"Then would you introduce me?" He gave her a curt nod and they separated. Sasuke started walking ahead and Sakura followed realising that Sasuke had reverted to being more quiet and subdued again. She smiled at his parents when he introduced her.

"How did you meet my son then?" Sasuke's father asked her, and Sakura noticed Sasuke shift slightly out of the corner of her eye, she guessed that his father didn't know that he had made a habit of disappearing from the offices at every opportunity.

"Through Naruto," She replied.

"Naruto, huh?" He said and his manner became even more disapproving, Sasuke's mum smile.

"Naruto's always very cheerful isn't he?" She commented and Sakura nodded, she lowered her voice but her next comment was still audible to Sasuke and his dad. "My husband thinks Naruto's a bad influence on Sasuke." Sakura suppressed a smile.

"Is he?" Sakura asked genuinely interested in what she had to say as Sasuke looked slightly guilty, his mother smiled at Sakura.

"Well you should have seen what they were like when they were teenagers." She said in a conspiratorial voice Sakura glanced at Sasuke who shook his head slightly.

"That's enough," Sasuke's father interrupted them, "hopefully he's learnt from his mistakes now." Sasuke frowned slightly and Sakura wondered what was going through his head. "If he was more like Itachi then we wouldn't have this problem," Sasuke went ridged and Sakura grew uneasy at this sudden turn of events. Sasuke's mother gave them both a smile.

"Ignore him, for some strange reason he doesn't enjoy parties, you two go and have fun." There was a slight protest and Sasuke didn't seem to want to move. It was strange how much of an impact his father's words had had on him and Sakura caught his arm and tugged slightly.

"Sasuke," She said softly, "Sasuke, come on, let's go" He nodded, still looking unsure of himself for the first time since Sakura had met him so she gently guided him across the room.

"Sakura," Ino called out to her cheerfully and waved the two over. Naruto took one look at Sasuke and immediately looked concerned. "And this is Sasuke, I was hoping to have a proper conversation with you at some point." Sasuke seemed to snap out of his trance.

"Oh? And why's that?" He questioned. And Sakura noticed that he seemed to be slowly relaxing away from the presence of his parents, but Naruto was still giving him a worried look and she wondered if he was just pretending to be alright.

"Because you've been spending time with Sakura and I like to see who she's spending time with."

"Ino," Sakura protested but her friend just laughed.

"So, you've been spending time with Sakura for quite some time," Ino said folding her arms and Shikamaru sighed.

"Here we go, brace yourself Sasuke." He muttered and Ino glared at him.

"Yes I have," Sasuke said, mimicking Ino and folding his arms, a slight smile graced his lips.

"And?"

"And what?" Sasuke asked innocently, Ino glared at him.

"And what happens now?" Sasuke shrugged and his smile widened slightly, Naruto grinned as he seemed to realise what Sasuke was up too.

"Well, we're at a party you see that means there'll probably be some dancing, things going on in dark corners and then much later we all have to watch Neji and Tenten drive off in the wedding car for their honeymoon as she's somehow managed to convince him to take a week off for holiday and then we all get to leave." Ino scowled.

"Answer the question properly," Ino said frowning at him for being flippant with her, Sasuke looked at her wide eyed, radiating innocence.

"I thought I did," He said and Ino narrowed her eyes at him.

"What will you do about Sakura?" She asked and Sasuke looked thoughtful.

"Offer her a lift home if she wants it." Naruto laughed quietly and Ino glared at him, Hinata hid a smile behind her hand. "Sorry," Sasuke said, "I couldn't resist, I think you were asking me about something along the lines of whether I want to marry Sakura." He said flatly and Sakura felt herself going red. Ino shook her head.

"Well no, are you going to date her at least?" Sasuke shrugged.

"Shouldn't you wait until I ask Sakura instead of telling you first?" Ino opened her mouth to protest at his obscure answer and then the meaning behind his words sunk in, he wanted to ask her out. Sasuke smirked and noticed that Naruto was watching him carefully, and Sasuke guessed that he had seen his encounter with his father.

"Naruto you worry too much," Sasuke muttered and a look of relief crossed his friends face.

"I think I have a good enough reason to worry about you," Naruto said.

"Oh, that reminds me," Sakura said suddenly, "What did you two do when you were teenagers?" She demanded.

"Nothing," They both insisted and Sakura scowled at them, "I don't believe you."

"Come on Sakura," Sasuke said taking her hand, he looked back to the group they were with. "Sorry, I just want to show her something," Ino gave a slight smile and nodded, they said their goodbyes and Sasuke gently led Sakura towards a corridor that was just off the main room.

"Sasuke, what is it?" Sakura asked walking along side him. He stopped walking and let go of her hand and they stood in silence for a while. Sakura got the impression that Sasuke was working up to something, and she looked across the room and saw Neji and Tenten still surrounded by well wishers and friends .Sasuke came up behind Sakura and slipped his arms around her waist, a faint smile graced his lips.

"So what did you think?" He asked suddenly

"What do I think?" Sakura asked blankly, she turned to face him and without really thinking pushed his hair away from his face.

"About my parents now you've met them," Sakura paused to think as she wrapped her arms around his neck to gently play with his hair.

"Your mum's nice," She said finally, "But your dad's a bit stern."

"That's an understatement." Sasuke muttered, he looked out across the grand room and noticed his brother leaning against one of the pillars; he instinctively tightened his hold on Sakura's waist and his thoughts returned to Sakura's conversation with Itachi, whatever it had been about he wanted to know what about it had shaken her up so much.

"Don't think too much Sasuke, it's a party have fun," Sakura commented when she noticed him frowning slightly and she followed his gaze across to his brother. She giggled slightly and tugged him further down the passage way, finally stopping and pulling him closer to her again feeling daring after all the excitement and few glasses of wine she had had over the meal. Sasuke gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh?" He said softly, "And how would you propose I do that? What would you suggest that's fun?" He said slightly suggestively and Sakura began to blush at the intent look in his eyes.

"Well…" She started as Sasuke leant towards her and they were now almost nose to nose.

"Well?" He inquired. Sakura's heart sped up, she desperately wanted to kiss him but the slight flush on Sasuke's cheeks made her realise that he was slowly over coming his shyness and working up the courage to do it himself.

"I think that maybe..." She tightened her grip on his neck slightly, tangling her fingers in his dark hair.

"Mmm?" Sasuke gently brushed his lips against hers and drew away from Sakura uncertainly.

She gave him a broad smile and pulled him closer to her again to kiss him quickly on the lips. Sasuke gave a soft laugh and then rewarded her with a genuine smile. If his smiles hadn't had an impact on her before this one certainly would have, it completely transformed his face and he looked truly happy and Sakura found herself smiling back at him. Sasuke gathered her up in his arms, holding onto her tightly, he leant down and kissed her again, for longer this time and Sakura pressed herself against him enjoying the feel of his lips against hers. After all the interruptions they had endured at least, she decided, it was worth the wait.

"Sakura?" Sasuke whispered.

"What is it?" She said just as softly.

"Do you want to," He paused, "Maybe meet up sometime in the evening?"

"You mean a date?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager, Sasuke nodded and Sakura smiled at him again.

"I'd love to." He grinned at her and crushed her against him in a hug. Sakura squeaked in surprise and then laughed at how happy he had suddenly become just because of that one question.

Sasuke cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, running his fingers along the side of her face and jaw line and he drew back. Sakura smiled up at him, and Sasuke smiled back and pulled her close into his arms, he rested his chin on the top of her head and they stayed there for a while content, with Sakura reaching up and playing with the ends of his hair.

Sakura pulled herself out of Sasuke's embrace and gave him another quick smile; he gave her a quizzical look, raising one eyebrow slightly. Sakura giggled shyly and extended her hand towards him. Echoes from the past came flooding back as they both recalled another time, another place, where the soft music played in the streets and they had danced uninterrupted.

"Dance with me," Sakura asked softly. Sasuke smiled at her and reached out, his larger hand enclosing her smaller one and she gently led him out towards the dance floor.

Sakura wrapped her arms round his neck as a slow song played once again. It was strange she reflected how all this started with coffee but soon became so much more.

Now Sakura's routine had changed, she used to come in every week with Ino for a chat and to catch up but now she came in every week, went up to the counter as usual and, smiling, joined the dark haired young man by the window. And best of all, she now saw him in the evenings as well.

End

In Chocolate Sasuke mentions that after he hit Itachi and walked out on him that Itachi said he was happy for him. Suggestions that the corruption in the Uchiha company goes deeper than Itachi and he was just trying to force Sasuke out of the company for his own good.

End

* * *

Well, I'm really glad I got this finished at last. I've still got ideas for this story but I thought this part of it works well on its own so I'm ending it here for now and I'll probably continue with a sequel.

I hope I've made people happy by finally bringing Sasuke and Sakura together and a big thanks to everyone who has read this, reviewed it, added it to their favourites and so on, I had no idea that it had gotten quite popular until recently. So THANK YOU and I hope you all keep reading my stories and enjoy them.


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